


Min Yoongi and the Moving Castle

by blackcatkuroi



Category: Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: AU, Adorable Fire Hobi, Gen, Howl's Moving Castle AU, M/M, Min Yoongi is a goner, Park Jimin Is a Sweetheart, Squishy Tiny Jungkook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 11:05:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12079806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcatkuroi/pseuds/blackcatkuroi
Summary: Howl's Moving Castle, except Min Yoongi is the reclusive wizard and Park Jimin is cursed, seeking help from the only source he thinks might be able to help him, since he definitely isn't giving into that arrogant Prince.Throw in talkative Fire Demon Hobi, squishy Apprentice Jungkook, scheming Sorcerer to the king Namjoon, and well, you have a story! (Wait, where is Taehyung???)Creativity kept flowing by @imperatritzaa and her amazing moodboards on twitter. Go check them out!





	Min Yoongi and the Moving Castle

Yoongi sighed, perched on the roof of a low building he suspected was a storage facility, listening to the sounds of the parade. Really, all this fuss and bother grated on his nerves. Why had he even left his room today, much less come into the city? And on a day like this, where everyone was out cheering the soldiers and the war effort, celebrating everything he hated?

 

To make matters worse, he could feel the tell tale signs of a searching spell trying to sink into him. He shook it off with practiced ease but it left him uneasy, knowing that he wasn’t alone out here. But he could do his best to ignore it for the time being, until it became too insistent to ignore. He was sure that egotistical idiot wouldn’t let him alone long.

 

His gaze fell on a trio, two guards and a teenager.  

 

The boy couldn’t be that much younger than himself, Yoongi thought, but the way he bunched his hands in his sleeves as the guards jeered at him made him seem like a child. There was something familiar about the slight profile, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He narrowed his eyes and paid more attention to the kid and the guards.

 

Something in him twitched at the sight of the guards looming over the boy. He hated bullies. Loathed them. “There you are, you brat. Where have you been?” He hadn’t consciously realized he had moved, sliding down from his perch to sling an arm over the kid’s shoulders, feeling him stiffen up. Well, no helping it now. And he just had to get involved when that damnable self-obsessed idiot was stalking him again.

 

“Who’s this?” The guards gave Yoongi a long look. From the short stature to black hair and pale skin, he looked anything but threatening, and the guard frowned. “No need to cut in, we were just having some fun,” one of the guards said.

 

“I should think two fine, upstanding guards like yourselves would be out at the parade, don’t you?” He summoned a trickle of his magic and slid it into their bodies, forcing them into attention with a flick of his fingers.

 

“Eep!” The small sound was nearly inaudible, except for the fact that the boy’s mouth was practically level with his ear. His frame was stiff but he made no motion to escape from the admittedly loose hold.

 

“Now off you go.” With another flick, he sent them marching towards the parade, only relinquishing his control when they were among their peers.

 

“Who...who are you? Why did you…” he saw fingers emerge from a striped sleeve to wiggle in a vague approximation of magic.

 

He chuckled. “I don’t like bullies, and they both had a head and a half on you.” He felt the shadows closing in. “And sorry, but I can’t leave you alone just yet.” Without waiting for a reply, he dragged the boy with him, shifting his grip from shoulder to arm.

 

“Hey, let me go, what are you doing, what’s going on?” The kid struggled in his hold, but when he caught sight of the black blob oozing out of the wall, he stiffened and let Yoongi hurry him along an alley.

 

“Don’t look at them kid,” he murmured under his breath.

 

“Jimin,” was the quick but nervous reply.

 

“What?”

 

“Not kid, my name’s Jimin. And what are those things?” Jimin, apparently, clung closer as he tried to not twist his head around to look at the blobs chasing them.

 

“The Prince of the Waste’s servants.” The words themselves almost made Jimin freeze, but the thought of the blobs catching up had him moving faster, clinging tighter.

 

“Magic?” Jimin hissed, the word sliding out from between his teeth. “The Wastes?” He might have sounded panicked if he hadn't had his breathing under control.

 

“I would have thought that obvious,” Yoongi drawled in an attempt at nonchalance. “Given that I just sent off two soldiers with a flick of my fingers.” He saw the blobs merge into the alleyway ahead of them, knew they were closing in behind, and grit his teeth. “Sorry ‘bout this Jimin, but I need you to jump, NOW!”

 

With a burst of magic, and using Jimin’s uncanny ability to listen, a trait he found far less in humanity of late, he forced them both into the air.

 

Above the rooftops, he stabilized their flight and looked over at his impromptu passenger.

 

He probably shouldn't have, in retrospect. He hadn't managed to get a good look at Jimin’s face before, just a bit of his profile and a shock of orange locks. Enough to ascertain that the boy was younger than him.

 

But now, in full light and not currently on the run from anything, Yoongi had the chance to actually see what Jimin looked like, and he hoped that his pale skin wasn’t suddenly bright red.

 

Jimin’s eyes were wide in awe and fascination, a deep brown that reminded Yoongi of the coffee he would slog through on particularly trying days. Round cheeks still hinting at a chubby childhood gave him an air of innocent happiness and bunched up when he smiled, turning his eyes into crescent moons. And lips should probably never be that full.

 

He looked away before Jimin caught him staring. He really didn't need any accusations of being a creeper flung his way, not after the fairly decent, if strange, start they’d had.

 

“I’ve never been this high before! It’s amazing!” Jimin exclaimed, hands stretched out like he was a bird.

 

Yoongi scoffed. “This isn’t that difficult a trick, it just takes some momentum.” He grabbed ahold of Jimin’s elbow when the boy started leaning a bit too far to the right. “And try to stay upright.”

 

Jimin’s eyes sparkled at him. “Thank you,” he said, and Yoongi blinked, trying not to let the shock flash across his face. “I could have probably handled the guards on my own, but my brother would have lectured me again, and those blobs really didn’t seem very nice, so thanks.”

 

“Um...no problem…” he replied, not sure what he should be saying. “Erm, where were you headed?” Sure, he could figure it out with a quick peek at Jimin’s surface thoughts, but he did try to refrain from being rude.

 

“Oh, the bakery. My brother helps run it. I was supposed to help him out for a bit, I had some free time.” Jimin frowned. “I suppose I’ll be late now though. I’m not sure where it is from up here.”

 

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “There’s not that many bakeries in this town, and there’s only one nearby. I’ll get you there in time, come on.” He grabbed Jimin’s hand and yanked him in the right direction, adjusting their path as needed to keep them aloft.

 

“Really, this is amazing. I didn’t know magic could be so cool. All we ever hear about is the Prince of the Wastes and Yoongi, and some feud between the two. It doesn’t spill much into the city, but people like to tell horror stories, hearts being stolen, missing children, people losing their youth. But this is fun, and you don’t look like you’re going to steal my heart. Besides which, I’m not a girl.” Jimin grinned brightly, and Yoongi was suddenly very glad he hadn’t introduced himself. “Oh, there it is!” His free hand pointed right at the building Yoongi had been steering them towards.

 

“Then here you are, Jimin.” He let the youth down onto the balcony, shaking his bangs into his face to avoid seeing the blinding smile Jimin sent up at him.

 

“Thank you, again.” Yoongi shrugged in half-hearted acceptance, then took off, hoping to leave behind the odd feeling in his stomach along with the boy who had brought it on.

 

~~~~

 

Jimin sighed, feeling the high from his short flying adventure still simmering in his veins. It had been exhilarating.

 

He hadn’t needed the help with the soldier duo earlier, but it had been appreciated, in a small way. As the oldest he had always stood up for himself and his younger brother, and he knew how to hold his own, but his brother had never approved of him leaving bruises on idiot guys who found him an easy target. The blobs of black goo oozing after them, though, had been more than a bit unsettling. He shuddered at the memory.

 

But it hadn’t been all bad. That wizard who had shooed off the guards had also saved him from whatever those black things were, and had taken him flying!

 

He smiled, hand on his heart. He really loved the flying part. He wished he could have stayed up in the air longer, had been able to dance there. He so rarely got to indulge in his dance these days, having a pushy mother who needed him to be responsible for the shop when she was away, as she often was, or having to support his little brother.

 

“Jimin! Jimin! Is that you? Are you okay?” A solid mass ran into him, nearly overbalancing him. If it weren’t for the railing he might have ended up on his face.

 

“Jihyun, I’m fine, I’m fine!” He shoved his brother’s worried hands away from him, eyes glittering in amusement. “What’s up with the welcome?”

 

“Sujin saw you flying! Flying Jimin! Do you know how dangerous it is to talk with wizards? What if something happened to you?” Jihyun’s voice was getting progressively louder as he worried over his older brother.

 

Jimin laughed. “I’m not some young maiden, Jihyun, what would a wizard do to me? I’m also not a child. And he helped me out. I didn’t punch out another guard today because of him.”

 

Jihyun groaned, rubbing his temples. “Why are you always getting into trouble with the guards?” he complained. “If they weren’t so embarrassed to have been knocked unconscious by someone half their height I would be bailing you out of jail once every other week.”

 

“They’re the ones who keep harassing me. It’s not my fault, I don’t go looking for trouble. And hey, I managed to avoid it today!”

 

“By running into a wizard, Jimin, a wizard!” Jihyun wasn’t letting that part of the day’s events go, and Jimin sighed.

 

“I’m fine, he didn’t do anything to me other than save a couple guards from a black eye and get me here. Really, Jihyun, you’re overreacting.” Jimin was leaving out the black blobs that had chased them, and the wizard’s striking eyes and strong hands. He doubted Jihyun would be nearly as understanding of either things.

 

Jihyun heaved a sigh. “Whatever, Jimin, but don’t complain when you end up heartless or something later because of this,” he warned before turning and heading back into the bakery. “Minjoon could use your help in storage, if you’re still up for helping.”

 

“I’ll head down that way,” Jimin replied, a smile still etched on his face.

 

“And tell me before you leave! Don’t just vanish!”

 

“I never just vanish!” Jimin protested, but his brother just waved a hand at him in clear dismissal. “That little brat,” he muttered, but he still couldn’t shake the soft joy that still filled him.

 

He spent the next couple hours moving barrels of flour, boxes of butter, and all manner of ingredients that a bakery needed to run smoothly, still thinking of glittering black eyes under a black fringe, strong hands wrapping around his frame, the feeling of walking through the sky. Maybe not the most productive of thoughts, but it was entertaining.

 

And if the physical labor hid the faint blush on his cheeks, all the better.

 

It was past dusk when he finally wrapped up, waving to Jihyun as he headed out.

 

“Be careful, Jimin! And don’t talk to anymore wizards!” his brother called after him. Jimin rolled his eyes and made an absent gesture with his hand, meant to reassure his worrywart little brother.

 

The walk home was far less eventful, and he sighed as he opened the door to the hat shop, locking it behind him. His hands immediately went to his necklace, playing with it. His dance teacher had given him the small music shaped charm when Jimin was named the best under 10 dancer in the kingdom, and it was a keepsake he held onto. He never took it off, hiding it under his clothes so his mother wouldn’t try and take it away. He tucked it back under his shirt as he surveyed the shop.

 

It was already past closing time and the shop was deserted. All the part time workers his mother had hired had gone for the day, and it was his job to close the shop up and do any last minute tidying so the morning girls could open without having to fuss over anything. He hadn’t been allowed near the supplies since his last poor attempt looked more like roadkill than anything someone would ever wear.

 

He sighed, clicking the lock behind him and rubbing his eyes. His brother’s staff had really needed the help, the bakery was getting busy, but his shoulders didn’t appreciate the heavy lifting as much as Jihyun had. He pounded on the sore muscles as he absently shifted a few hats back into their proper place and picked up a few pieces of trash that had escaped the young, giggly, exuberant staff.

 

But when the bell above the door tinkled, he spun around, eyes wide.

 

He had locked that door. He knew he had.

 

A tall, slim, elegant man stood in the doorway, pink (pink!) hair well groomed, black eyes sharp and roaming over the shop with an air of mild disgust. “A hat shop. How...quaint.” Jimin could hear the snob, and he frowned. “And look at you. Tiny little thing, aren’t you? I don’t know what he sees in you.”

 

“Business hours are over, sorry. If you could come back tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll be able to help you then,” he said, keeping his tone even.

 

A smirk flashed across the handsome face. “Ah, but I’m not here for any of these...hats. Rather, I came here for you. It was quite the feat to track you down. He went to great lengths to keep you safe, which was just asking me to look into it. And I do understand, I really do.”

 

Jimin clenched his fists, before moving to the door and opening it, pointing outside with a scowl. “We are closed, sir. Please leave.”

 

“And you have a spine, talking to the Prince of the Wastes like that.”

 

“The Prince of the Wa…” Jimin paled, hand clenching on the doorknob with far too much strength.

 

“Well, please send Yoongi my regards. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.” The smile took on a sinister quality as the entire room seemed to darken unnaturally, and Jimin raised his hands as the Prince seemed to spring towards him.

 

Jimin groaned, coughing, curling in on himself as his body protested every movement he made. “What...what did…” he coughed. “What did you **do** to me?” he demanded, and even his voice sounded strange.

 

“You’ll figure it out soon enough. And the interesting thing about this spell, kitten, is that you can’t tell anyone, literally.” And with that, the Prince walked out, shutting the door behind him and leaving Jimin bent in half, feeling air rattling in his lungs.

 

Something was very wrong, but he didn’t know what. His body felt...wrong. He danced, he knew his body well, but now it felt like he was in some stranger’s form.

 

There was a mirror just down the hallway, and he stumbled over to it, his feet uncooperative all of a sudden. When did they get so heavy?

 

When he finally looked at himself, he swore he was staring at some weird carnival attraction. That couldn’t be him.

 

A face creased with wrinkles, sagging with age, and looking nothing like the face he had seen that morning. He poked his cheek, shocked to see a gnarled, wrinkled finger do the same in the mirror.

 

His hands, right in front of his face, his hands were prunes!

 

He looked back into the mirror, horrified. This couldn’t be. He couldn’t have aged sixty years in the space of a minute!

 

Fingers prodded and poked at everything they could touch. Skin sagged, muscles were just barely there, underneath loose skin, when he knew they were still hard earlier that day. His joints creaked with every motion.

 

Somehow, he was eighty odd years old, and he would never dance again. Despite his mother’s disapproval over his “hobby”, he still managed to find some time every day, every other day at most, to dance just a bit. He may not be able to attend the dance school anymore, but anywhere flat where he could play his music was more than enough for him.

 

Or it had been. Now he can’t even do that. Everything that he was...gone. Gone in the blink of an eye.  

 

No, he couldn’t think like that. He refused to think like that. He would figure this out.

 

Another glance in the mirror, just to check that this wasn’t all a nightmare.

 

His face was lean underneath the wrinkles and folds of his skin, the fat from his youth he’d not been able to shake having melted away, and his still now silver hair was limp, having lost it’s luster.

 

He groaned, leaning into the mirror. “I can’t let mom see me like this. Or Jihyun, Oh god, if Jihyun saw me I’d never hear the end of it. What am I going to do now?” Even his voice was old. “It’s too late for this. Oh god what am I going to do?”

 

The stairs up to his room made his knees creak something awful, and he rubbed at them with every step, thankful when he finally sat down on his bed.

 

Tomorrow. He’d figure it out tomorrow.

 

Maybe this would fade by tomorrow. Maybe morning would come and he would be back to normal.  

 

~~

 

Tomorrow came, and he was still 80 odd years old. There was a saying his mother used to say about maybes, but he was too frustrated to recall what it was.

 

Well, he wasn’t going to stay like this, eighty years old and creaking long before he should ever had reached that age. And with the Prince knowing where he lived, staying here wasn’t an option.

 

But the Prince had said something about Yoongi, that weird, mysterious wizard people said stole hearts or some other such nonsense. He didn’t put much stock in rumors, but if there were rumors, and even the Prince kept an eye on him, then maybe this Yoongi could get rid of the spell. It was worth a shot, and getting away from the house and the shop would get the girls and his family out of danger.

 

He packed up a few essentials, dug out an old sweater, and waited for his mother to leave, assuring her it was just a bad cold when she demanded to know why he hadn’t been down to open the store.

 

Outside of town, he looked back, sighing as he realized he hadn’t gone very far. “This is going to take forever. I hate this. My knees ache, my back hurts, my hips pop. I’ve gone barely two kilometers out of town and it’s already getting dark. Being old sucks. Really sucks.” He looked around, wondering if there was a stick he could use to make his walk easier, spotting one in a bush that looked about the right size to be a good walking stick.

 

After a bit of tugging, far more than he really should have had to use, had he not been cursed eighty years old, he managed to drag the stick out.

 

Only to realize that the stick wasn’t actually a stick, but someone’s macabre idea of a scarecrow, a vegetable with a childish face drawn on for a head, tattered clothes even he, with his love of oversized and ancient sweaters, would have thrown out, and a crude cross frame for arms.

 

“Well, that was a waste of ener-” he had to stop as the scarecrow suddenly jerked into motion, hopping about in it’s pole in front of him. “....alright then. Glad I could help you out.” He raised an eyebrow at the still hoping scarecrow. “Well, aren’t you going to get back to whatever field you’re supposed to be watching over, or something?” He said, gesturing off into the distance. “I mean, it’s not like there's much in the way of crops for you to be guarding out here.”

 

The scarecrow hopped in place a bit more, then turned abruptly and hopped a few feet away. Jimin sighed, watching the stick he had hoped would relieve his back pain hop away. The wind continued to rip whatever warmth he had managed to squander away in his large sweater, and he shivered.

 

“You know, it would be much easier to find these wizards if they didn’t insist on moving about all the time,” he grumbled, stumbling as he tried to make his way further towards the Wastes. “I mean, don’t broadcast your address, sure, but is a moving house really necessary?”

 

The scarecrow hopped into his field of vision, and he lifted his eyes up, slightly baffled to see it back. Hadn’t he gotten it unstuck so it could go back to whatever hedgewitch had spelled it alive?

 

“What are you doing back here? Don’t you have a field to watch over or something?” The scarecrow hopped behind him, nearly shoving him forward. He stumbled with the force. “What is it with magical things and me recently? You know, before yesterday, the most I ever had to do with magic was figuratively, and now there’s a scarecrow pushing my eighty year old body around like a barrel of hay!” He glared up at the scarecrow, which looked as sheepish as something with a vegetable for a head could look.

 

It hopped in front of him, making some kind of violent motion towards a distant hill. Almost as if it was trying to get Jimin to follow it.

 

Jimin frowned. “What’s over there? Shelter? I mean, getting out of the cold would be nice, to be sure. And it’s dark. I hate being out after dark.” Another hop and further indication that Jimin should really really go that way. “Fine, fine, I get it. I really hope this means there’s something over there more interesting than whatever patch of nothing you were spelled to watch over.”

 

His feet were heavy, but just the thought of there being a place that provided some shelter from the wind and cold was enough to convince his body to move a bit faster.

 

The sound was almost lost in the wind and the biting cold, but something definitely not natural reach Jimin’s ears. Something creaking, metal rubbing against metal, the hiss of steam.

 

He looked up, just in time to see the looming towers, cobbled together rooms, and the mishmash of materials that formed the castle Yoongi was known to live in.

 

And it was coming his way.

 

At least he would be able to get out of the cold, and he’d managed to find Yoongi. Maybe he could get this curse thing taken care of sooner than he thought.

 

He shivered, clutching his sweater around him tighter, and hoped the castle would stop moving long enough for him to get on. He wasn’t in any shape to be running after it.

 

The scarecrow, or whatever it was, hopped up and down right in front of the castle, and for a brief moment, Jimin thought it was about to be pulverized underneath the giant feet that propelled the castle forward. But the castle lumbered to a halt, hunkering down, and Jimin could see the entrance to the monstrosity called a castle low enough for him to enter.

 

Jimin heard his joints creak as he edged closer to the castle, heaving a sigh of release when it didn't move. He grinned back at the scarecrow, waving.

 

The scarecrow hopped up and down in reply, and Jimin laughed. He'd love to meet the person who animated this scarecrow; they had a sense of humor.

 

“Thanks, Mr. Scarecrow! I hope I’ll be able to repay you someday for the help!” he called out, before opening the strangely unlocked door into the castle.

 

It was dark, but a faint light made it possible for him to drag his aching and tired body up the few steps and into the giant, most likely main, room.

 

A small fire was the only source of the light, and a chair left in front of it made as good a resting place as any luxury chair Jimin could think of. He slumped into it with a grateful sigh, nearly dozing off with exhaustion.

 

“You shouldn’t be here.” A low, warm voice interrupted his almost doze, and Jimin jerked upright, startled. “Nasty curse too.”

 

“What...who?”

 

“Down here, old man!” Jimin looked down, until he saw eyes peering up at him from the fireplace. “Yeah, here. Thought you’d lost the ability to see as well, old as you are.”

 

“My eyes are just fine. And you’re a fire! A talking fire!” Jimin glared at the fire, indignant.

 

“Well, the rest of you doesn’t seem to be just fine. And look at where you are. You’re in a wizard’s castle. Why wouldn’t there be a talking fire?” The fire pulled a log towards itself, wrapping around the dead wood and eating away at its bark.

 

Jimin huffed, crossing his arms. “I’ve never been in a wizard’s place before, I wouldn’t know what to expect,” he finally said. “And you mentioned the curse. Can you get rid of it?”

 

“Ah, well, there we have an issue. I can’t actually do much magic on my own at the moment,I have my own curse to get rid of. Can’t go helping you until I fix my own problem, you see?”

 

“Well, I’ll have to wait then. I refuse to live like this for something I had no control over.” He sat in silence for a moment, then furrowed his brow. “What’s your name, anyway? You have a name, right? I mean, do talking fires have names? I’ve never met a talking fire before, so I don’t know.” Jimin fumbled through the question. “My name’s Jimin,” he offered, remembering his manners.

 

The fire laughed. “I’m Hoseok. You can call me Hoseok or Hobi, either works. How did you even get in here?”

 

“The castle just stopped for me. I was looking for it, so I’m glad it wasn’t too hard to find.”  

 

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “You came looking for the castle of a wizard that people say eats hearts?” he asked, clearly skeptical.

 

Jimin shrugged. “I don’t know magic. And I refuse to be stuck like this for the rest of my life, which is now much shorter than I would like. So Yoongi is a valid option.”

 

“You’re much braver than most.”

 

“All those things are merely rumors. Nothing’s ever been confirmed, and rumors aren’t enough to scare me. I really need help.” Jimin worried his lip. “And Yoongi’s the only one who might be able to help.” Jimin looked at Hoseok. “What is he like? Yoongi?”

 

Hoseok let a tendril of fire form a hand, and he rested his fire head on it. “Well, he’s pretty strict about his stuff and his space. He’s not fond of visitors. And he’s more grumpy than not, lately…” Hoseok trailed off. “But you look ancient, I’m sure he’ll be lenient when he finds you here.”

 

Jimin grumbled. “You say it like I’ll be lucky to be alive when he comes in.”

 

“Nah, you’ll be fine. But you might be on the receiving end of a few more glares than you might be used to.” Hoseok chomped on the piece of firewood. “Get some sleep, Jimin. You’ll need it come morning.”

 

He didn’t have to say it twice, as Jimin was already struggling to stay awake. As soon as he closed his eyes, he drifted off, the long day and the physical exertion harsh on his older body.

 

Hoseok watched the old man, not really old, he spoke like a kid barely out of teenagerhood, drift off to sleep. Yoongi wouldn’t be happy someone had wandered in, but he wouldn’t toss someone who clearly needed help out.

 

It was a strong, harsh curse placed on the boy. It wouldn’t be broken easily, he knew that. It would take the boy’s own will, and a really strong attachment, to break it. Maybe Yoongi had a solution.

 

The door dinged, and Yoongi dragged himself up the stairs, feet barely coming off the floor. “Hey, Yoongi, you okay?”

 

“What is he doing here?” Yoongi replied, pointing at Jimin.

 

Hoseok shrugged. “He came looking for you. Get some sleep, he’ll be here in the morning. You look like walking death.”

 

Yoongi groaned, but dragged himself towards the stairs. “When Jungkook comes down in the morning, remind him that he needs to go do some shopping. We’re out of practically everything, and it looks like we’ll have a third mouth to feed.”

 

“I’ll tell him. He’s a good kid, he’ll be fine doing some errands.” Hoseok looked at the wizard, concern clear in his eyes. “You need to take better care of yourself. You’re wearing yourself thin.”

 

Yoongi sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not like I can just leave everything as it is. The country’s going to pieces out there, the only prince and heir to the throne of the our neighboring country has gone missing, and wizards and witches are already in the thick of it. I can ignore Namjoon summoning me all the time, for a while longer at least, but if I can, I should help. Even if it is just disabling bombers before they can strike refugees.” He headed up the stairs. “Run some hot water in a few hours, Hoseok, I’m too tired to clean the grime off right now.”

 

Hoseok sighed, staring up at his longtime companion. Really, Yoongi was going to wear holes in himself if he kept dashing off every night. He was already starting to get fuzzy around the edges.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Jimin was woken by the sound of steam hissing and feet pounding on the staircase. “What? What? Is Yoongi back?”

 

“Yeah, he dragged himself back in last night looking like something the cat found. He’s currently wasting all my hot water. And Jungkook hasn’t come down yet. If he doesn’t make it down soon, there won’t be any breakfast. Not that the two of them eat with any sort of regularity,” Hoseok mumbled.

 

“Is that so?” Jimin muttered. “Well, I’m not a bad cook but I’m passable. I can...hello.” A short, pre-pubescent child stood at the base of the staircase, dark eyes wide and staring. “I guess you’re Jungkook?”

 

“Um...ye-yeah. Who are you? Ho-how did you get in here? Hoseok? How did he get in here?” His voice was high, and he was looking everywhere but at Jimin, clearly nervous.

 

“He walked in last night from the wastes, and before you ask, no he isn’t a wizard. You think I would let a strange wizard in?” Hoseok looked as affronted as a flame could when Jungkook had directed accusing eyes at him.  

 

“I’m Jimin. I’ll just be staying for a bit, until I can sort out an issue. It’s nice to meet you Jungkook.” Jimin held out a hand, but took it away when all Jungkook did was stare at it, eyes wide.

 

A sudden knock at the door interrupted them. Jungkook rushed for a cloak, flung it on, some kind of magic aging his face. “Just...wait, okay?”

 

“Porthaven door, Jungkook,” Hoseok said.

 

Jungkook raced to the door, spun it until the colored dial was blue, and opened it. Outside stood a man in a well tailored suit. “Good morning mayor.”

 

“Is the Wizard Agust at home?”

 

“No, I'm afraid my master is out at the moment. I speak for him.” Jungkook’s voice had deepened, sounding almost like an old man’s voice.

 

“This is an official summons from the king. He is to report to the palace within the week.” The mayor handed over a letter.

 

“I'll be sure to let him know. Have a good day.” Jungkook bowed slightly and shut the door.

 

He had barely made it to the top of the steps before there was another knock. “Kingsbury Door,” Hoseok said, and Jimin blinked. Wasn't that the capital?

 

“Okay okay, one moment.” Jungkook sighed, reapplied the disguise, and headed back to the door, opening the red option. “Good Day.”

 

“This is a missive from the king himself for Master Min. All witches and wizards are ordered to present themselves to the king. The war is upon us,” and official said, voice clipped.

 

“I'll make sure my master gets it. Have a good day.” Jungkook shut the door, sagging against it. “I hate answering the door. I get all nervous.”

 

Hoseok made noises of support. “You did well, Jungkookie. Just set the letters on the table, Yoongi’ll see them when he comes down.”

 

Jimin looked between the two. “That...that was Porthaven and Kingsbury….” he said, awed.

 

Jungkook nodded.”I'll show you later, but yeah, that door’s connected to places in both cities.” Jungkook suddenly looked down at his shoes. “Um, sir, it's nice to meet you...despite the interruptions.”

 

Jimin smiled, trying to shake off the daze he had been in as his stomach growled. “Nice to meet you too, Jungkook. I was going to make breakfast. Anything you want? I’m not amazing in the kitchen, but I can cook decently well.”

 

“You can cook?” Jungkook said, nearly whisper quiet. “Um, I like bacon, and eggs. It’s...it’s about all we got. I hafta do shopping today…” he trailed off, wringing his hands.

 

Jimin smiled, already fond of the tousle haired kid who was too shy by half. “Well, if you can show me where everything is, I can get started. I’m not up to searching, my old bones’ll protest at the mere thought.”

 

Jungkook jumped to attention. “I’ll get everything!” he said, then began to dash around the place, grabbing a frying pan from one side of the room, eggs from another, bacon slices that had been shoved under a dome covering, and a slab of butter from….somewhere. Jimin wasn’t entirely sure. By the end, he had the ingredients to a breakfast and an eager, if extremely shy boy, vibrating in anticipation of food.

 

“Alright, let's get started on some food. Hoseok, will you assist me? I need some heat for this to work.” Jimin smiled at the fire, who sighed dramatically, frowning. “Please, Hoseok. I’ll set some new logs nearby for you later.”

 

The fire demon eyed Jimin, uncertain about this deal, but relented. “Only if you clean out the fire pit too. This place is filled with ash.” He gestured around, and Jimin chuckled.

 

“Fine, fine, I’ll clean out the fire pit too. Thanks Hoseok!”

 

“How you look so charming at your age, I don’t understand,” Hoseok muttered and Jimin set the fry pan over him. “You should be illegal.”

 

Jimin just cheerfully plopped a bit of butter into the pan and broke a few eggs, humming to himself. “Jungkook, can you find me some plates?”

 

“Oh, um, yeah, sure!” The small boy darted to an overstuffed and clearly dirty cabinet, pulling out a few plates.

 

“Hoseok, do you eat anything other than wood?”

 

The fire blinked up at him, slightly startled. “Well, if you don’t want the eggshells, I’d love em. They have this crunch to them that you can’t find in wood. And they don’t burn as easily. I like a good challenge.”

 

Jimin laughed, but fed the discarded eggshells to Hoseok, who ate them with a happy hum. He scooted the cooking eggs to the side and started on the bacon, letting them sizzle and pop. “Jungkook, are those plates clean?”

 

Jungkook started, looked down at the plates, and frowned. “Um, mostly clean, sir. A little bit of dust never hurt no one.”

 

“I guess I’ll be cleaning the rest of this place too. This is no place for a kid to live, dust and dirt and bugs everywhere. Even poor Hoseok here is nearly drowning in ashes.” Jimin sighed, resigned to having to at least attempt to tidy up the space. He hadn’t planned on it, really, he just wanted to see if he could get this curse fixed, but he couldn’t leave poor Jungkookie here in this mess without doing something about it. And Hoseok had been kind to him.

 

“Oh, you, uh, you don’t have to...Master Yoongi doesn’t really like people touching his things. Even I get in trouble when I touch something I shouldn’t’ve.” Jungkook twiddled his thumbs.

 

Jimin tilted his head. “Why are you here, Jungkook? Are you his kid or something?”

 

Jungkook shook his head wildly. “No no no no. Master Yoongi isn’t very old...I’m an apprentice. I’m learning magic...I’m okay with some things but other stuff still trips me up. And I only know the basics for now. I can’t do the stuff Master Yoongi does…” He looked down at the ground again. “But I really like learning from Master Yoongi. Magic is really cool!”

 

The grin on the young boy’s face made Jimin warm, happy that the kid showed some signs of being a kid. “That’s awesome. You’ll have to show me some of it, okay?”

 

Jungkook looked like a startled deer, something Jimin was coming to believe was his default expression, before he nodded. “Okay, sir.”

 

“Just Jimin, Jungkook. You can use my name, it’s alright.”

 

Jungkook fidgeted. “Um, alright, Jimin, sir.” There was a clatter of footsteps upstairs, and the boy leaped up. “That’s Master Yoongi!”

 

“Let’s get breakfast ready, then, hm? Hand me those plates, Jungkook.” He divided up the food as Jungkook handed him the plates, until they had three portions. Then he set the pan aside and grinned at Hoseok. “Thanks, Hobi! I appreciate it.”

 

Hoseok grinned. “Thanks for the eggshells. And there is our esteemable Yoongi. Glad you could drag yourself out of bed and join us, all mighty wizard.” Hoseok’s voice was a drawl.

 

Jimin glanced at the staircase, only to feel his hair stand on end as he recognized the slim figure coming down the stairs.

 

It was the wizard who had helped him yesterday. His hair, black and still damp, hung in front of his eyes, and his pale (pale pale) skin gleamed in the faint light. A long sleeved black shirt reached down to his wrists, and black slacks fell over bare feet. Everything about him exuded exhaustion, and pale fingers moved his fringe out of the way as he reached the ground floor.

 

Jimin had to keep the small sound that wanted to escape him when those glittering black eyes focused on him. “And you are?”

 

“I’m...I’m Jimin. I was hoping you could help me.” He shook his head, hoping his shock and surprise were hidden underneath the wrinkles. He shuffled his shoulders, gestured awkwardly at the plates that were on the meager space the table provided. “I made breakfast. Jungkookie here looked like he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in a while, and I was hungry. Hobi was helpful.” He smiled.

 

“Hoseok, being helpful? That’s a first. Usually he’s just irritating.” Yoongi cast a look over at the fire demon. “Turned into a helpful fire demon now?”

 

“Who heats your water and moves this castle, you ass?” Hoseok retorted, and Yoongi chuckled. “At least Jimin knows how to ask politely. You just demand things all wily-nily.”

 

“Well then, Jimin, I guess I should thank you for the meal. Jungkook, any silverware in decent condition?”

 

Jungkook nodded, holding a spoon and a couple forks. “These are okay, Master Yoongi, Jimin, sir.” He blinked. “Oh, and envoys from the palace came with letters from the king. Both in Porthaven and Kingsbury.”

 

Yoongi groaned. “Fine, fine, I'll handle it. Thanks Jungkook.” He took the letters the boy held out, shoving them into a pocket. “Now, hand me a fork, Jungkookie.”

 

Jimin eyed the remaining fork and spoon with a critical eye. “Jungkookie, we’re going to be doing a bit of cleaning before I leave here. You can’t be living in this disaster. How do you even keep a kid in this mess?” Jimin asked Yoongi.

 

The wizard just shrugged. “There’s nothing too dangerous, it’s just a bit dirty. It’s good character building.”

 

Jimin folded his arms, eyes hard. His body might be old but he wasn’t leaving the adorable kid in the disaster zone with a wizard who didn’t even know how to cook properly. “Character building? He’s a kid.”

 

Yoongi chuckled. “Are you sure you’re a guest, Jimin?” he asked. “Don’t bristle, come sit down and eat. You look like you could use the food.”

 

Jimin sighed, but sat his ancient bones down and picked up the spoon that Jungkook offered, cleaning it off with a grimace. “Thanks, Jungkookie.”

 

The boy flushed but smiled. “No problem, Jimin, sir.”

 

“Jungkook, sit down and eat. Our guest convinced Hoseok to act as a cook fire, so we should enjoy the food he’s made for us. Eat.” Yoongi gestured to a stool, and Jungkook pulled it up and sat at the edge of the table, eyes glued to the food.

 

Jimin grinned as Jungkook ate one bite, watching his eyes go wide, before he scarfed down as much as he possibly could, as fast as possible. “Do you not feed him?” he asked Yoongi, not really concerned that he was being a bit rude.

 

“He eats. We just don’t have hot breakfasts all the time. I’m not a good cook, and Hoseok isn’t usually one to agree to be used for something as mundane as heating up food.” Yoongi picked at his food. “So, Jimin, what do you have in your pocket?”

 

“What...what do I have...huh?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow, gesturing towards Jimin’s pocket, and he fumbled, reaching thick, clumsy fingers into his pocket. “What...I don’t leave trash in my pockets...what is this?” He pulled out a folded up piece of paper, staring at it in consternation. “How did you know it was in my pocket? I didn't know this was in my pocket.”

 

“It reeks of that idiot’s magic. Let me see.”

 

“That idiot?”

 

“The prince, whatever kind of title that is. I can sense his magic from a mile away.”

 

Jimin felt his eyes narrow, glaring down at the paper. “This is from _him?_ He _left_ it in my pocket? Why? I didn’t ask him for anything, at all. I didn’t even want to meet him. Why would he…?” Jimin trailed off.

 

Yoongi shrugged. “Might have known you’d seek me out. Let me see it, nothing’s gonna happen if you keep holding onto it.” Jimin frowned, but relented, holding out the paper, only to hiss as it sparked on contact with Yoongi’s hand. “Self-obsessed fool, he just has to be dramatic about everything.” Yoongi glared down at the paper as it burned runes into his table. That would be a pain to remove. “Could he get any more absurd. Hey, Jungkook, quick practical lesson. What are these?”

 

Jungkook paused, mouth full of bacon, eyes wide as Yoongi put him on the spot. He swallowed hastily, coughing as he tried to clear his mouth enough to speak. “Um...they’re runes. Scorth runes, right? Like, they affect whomever they’re directed at, and even if you erase the runes, the curse doesn’t go away. They're really really old.”

 

Yoongi nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Very good. Can you read them yet?” Jungkook shook his head, frowning. “That’s alright, they aren’t easy to read.” Yoongi sighed, staring at them. “It says ‘You who have swallowed a star, oh heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me.’ He does have to be as ridiculous as he possibly can, doesn’t he? Well, let’s get this off the table, might as well not leave it laying around.” He pressed his hand down on the runes, and with sparks and heat, burned them off the table.

 

Jimin gasped. “Didn’t...didn’t that hurt?” It certainly looked like it hurt.

 

“It’s not bad. I have to go. Jimin, you can hang around, I’ll be back later.” Yoongi swirled around, shoving on a pair of shoes shoved off in a corner, heading towards the door and spinning a knob Jimin hadn’t seen earlier until a small plaque showed a black square above the door, and without another word, Yoongi vanished through it.

 

“But...but I needed his help…” Jimin said, somewhat helplessly.

 

Jungkook put a hand on his arm. “Master Yoongi’ll be back this evening, Jimin, sir,” he said softly. “But you can hang out with me. I don’t usually have anyone else to talk to, except for Hoseok.”

 

Those big brown eyes made Jimin’s heart melt, and he smiled. “Alright, Jungkookie, I’ll hang out for the day and wait for Yoongi to come back. Besides, I said I would help you clean up this place, and I have a promise to Hobi to keep.” He looked over at the fire. “Right?”

 

Hoseok waved a fire arm. “Glad you didn’t forget!”

 

“Alright! So, cleaning, what do you have to do to clean?” Jungkook’s voice was eager, and Jimin melted just a bit more.  

 

“Well, have you ever cleaned before?”

 

“Nuh-uh. Master Yoongi sometimes spells the mess away when it gets too bad, but otherwise we don’t bother.”

 

Jimin sighed. “Alright, let’s get some brooms and rags and trash bags. This is gonna be a long day.”

 

Jungkook brightened up and rushed to grab the requested supplies, and Jimin looked at Hoseok. “Why are you glaring at me, old man? It’s not like I’m his guardian.”

 

“He’s all of ten or so, and he lives in this pigsty with a wizard who doesn’t seem to care how well cared for his charge is,” Jimin said, gesturing around. “Yoongi isn’t that old, how is he in charge of a kid?”

 

Hoseok chomped on a piece of wood. “Yoongi is more responsible than you give him credit for. That child has never gone hungry, is kept warm, and is taught. It may not seem like the most functional of situations, but Jungkook does well in it.” He looked up and down Jimin’s form. “And given the situation you’re in, well, you don’t have much room to talk.”

 

Jimin looked down at his body, reminded of his curse. “I really wish Yoongi hadn’t dashed out earlier. I didn’t even get to tell him about my issue…”

 

Hoseok snorted. “Judging by your curse, you can’t even talk about it, so what good would it have done?”

 

“Then how come you know!” Jimin shot back.

 

“I’m a fire demon. The magic coating you stinks.”

 

“But you can’t do anything about it, can you?” Hoseok shook his head. “This is really getting frustrating. Fine, I’ll just wait and ask Yoongi. Jungkookie, let’s get started. I’ll show you the best way to get everything cleaned up. And make sure you grab a pot, I need somewhere to put Hoseok until I can clean out the fire pit.”

 

Jungkook walked back in, eyes wide. “Um, you gotta be careful with Hoseok, Jimin, sir. If anything happens to him, it won’t be good for Master Yoongi.”

 

Jimin raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

 

“I’m not sure, exactly, but there’s a reason Hoseok is here in the castle, even though he’s a fire demon. And it’s tied to Master Yoongi. So, um, be careful.” Jungkook put a huge black pot next to the fire pit, giving Jimin a Look.”

 

“Hobi, what’s all this about?”

 

“You aren’t the only one with a curse you can’t talk about, Jimin. So just, be careful, okay?” Hoseok looked at the pot with trepidation.

 

“I’ll be careful. A couple pieces of wood should be fine, right? Let’s get started then!”

 

For the next several hours, Jimin taught Jungkook how to clean properly, wrangling the young boy into reaching spots he couldn’t with his current physique, dragging the trash into a localized pile near the door, and reorganizing all the multitude of odds and ends Yoongi had filled the castle with.

 

By the time the first floor was clean enough to be habitable, it was nearly lunch and Jimin heard Jungkook’s stomach rumble.

 

“Well, that’s as good a sign as any that it’s time to put down the brooms and rags, huh Jungkookie?” Jimin smiled at the kid, who’s eyes were wide. “What about some food, huh?”

 

“Um...I have to do some shopping, we don’t have much left in the castle…”Jungkook trailed off.

 

“So, how do we go shopping? Can we use the door to go somewhere with a market?.” Jimin gestured over to said door.

 

Jungkook grinned. “Yeah! I always use it when we run out of food.” He raced over to the door before Jimin could say another word, and spun the knob until it dinged, the indicator now blue, and flung the door open. “See! Here’s Porthaven. I go to the markets here, and we get clients from here all the time, whenever Master Yoongi decides to accept clients. Often they only need simple things, so I take care of it. It’s only the difficult stuff that Master Yoongi has to handle.”

 

Jimin’s eyes were wide. “This...this _is_ Porthaven! But...but that’s _miles_ away from where we were in the wastes…” he breathed, wandering out the door, confirming that they were, indeed, in Porthaven. It had been unbelievable earlier, but now, standing in the doorway, staring out at people walking up and down the cobbled road, it struck him. “There's a door to Kingsbury, right?”

 

“Yeah, we’re right near the palace, see!” Jungkook ushered Jimin back inside, then shut the door and changed the color, before opening it. “Kingsbury! I’m not supposed to wander around in Kingsbury though.” Jimin walked out the door, stunned. The capital was over a day's’ journey from Porthaven! And with just the turn of a doorknob they were there!

 

“This...this is amazing Jungkook! Did Yoongi make all this happen?”

 

“Of course, Jimin sir. He made the castle and all the magic that keeps it working, together with Hoseok.” Jungkook turned the knob back to Porthaven. “Let me grab my hood, then we can go out and get some food!” The boy ran up the stairs, and Jimin heard various objects clatter around as the boy searched for his hood.

 

He would have to clean out the upstairs as well, judging by the noise. He sighed. “Jungkook, you ready?” he called up.

 

“I’m coming, Jimin, sir!” Jungkook pounded down the steps, eyes bright. “Watch! I’ve gotten good at this spell! It’s the only way people will accept spells from me, after all. I am just a kid.” Jungkook’s eyes narrowed, then he drew his arms crosswise over his face.

 

A big, puffy beard sprang from above his lip, and his eyes aged enough to match the beard. Similar to the aging spell he used before, just with an added beard.

 

Jimin snorted. “That’s adorable, Jungkookie.”

 

“Now we match! We both look old!” His grin was hidden beneath the beard, but his eyes clearly crinkled. “And you found the basket we use to go shopping, so I don’t have to carry everything on my own! Let’s go, Jimin, sir!”

 

Jimin was trying to tamp down the surprise as Jungkook’s statement, but he didn’t get a chance to ask the kid anything before he bounced out the door, all energy and excitement. “We’ll be back soon, Hobi. Keep the place warm, alright?” Jimin called back to the fire demon, before following.

 

It wasn’t twenty minutes later before Jimin suddenly lost the good cheer he had gathered as Jungkook bargained for fish and vegetables. He had spotted one of those black blobs from the other day, obviously looking around the crowd for something.

 

He shoved himself next to Jungkook. “Jungkookie, some of those black blobs that Yoongi said were the servants of the Prince are here,” he whispered. “No, don’t look! I don’t want them to see us, but they’re here!”

 

Jungkook’s eyes were wide. “You’re absolutely sure? Yeah, okay, we need to get ba…”

 

The sound of people around them rose suddenly, and Jimin and Jungkook turned to look at the harbor. A ship, clearly bombed and barely floating, was being lugged into port, sailors and military men jumping overboard to make it to land. The noise was deafening, and Jungkook tugged Jimin closer to talk into his ear. “Let’s get going, we can use the crowd as cover, Jimin, sir.” Jungkook grabbed his hand with his own and yanked him towards the storefront that acted as the entrance to Yoongi’s castle.

 

Jimin saw the blobs spot them, and then loose them, as the surge of the crowd covered their retreat. His heart pounded against his ribs as they raced up the hill and then through the door. His knees threatened to give out from under him with every step, but the thought of being caught by those blobs was a far more pressing concern.

 

He shoved Jungkook in through the door first, then slammed it behind him and spun the dial until the blue color for the Wastes showed.

 

“Jimin, sir, are you okay? You really shouldn’t be running so hard…” Jungkook fussed over him, hands fluttering over Jimin’s slight, elderly frame.

 

“I’m...I’m fine, Jungkookie. I dance, so I’m in okay shape, even like this.” His breathing slowly evened, now that he wasn’t so worried about being caught by those blobs. “I just, those blobs are freaky. I hate them, they make my skin crawl.”

 

Jungkook nodded. “Yeah, they are weird and sorta creepy. I dunno why the Prince keeps them around. So, lunch? I managed to get some vegetables and fish before everyone went crazy and we headed back to the castle.”

 

Jimin grinned and set about prepping lunch, enjoying the simple meal and setting some aside from Yoongi when he came back.

 

“Alright, Jungkookie, let’s get that upstairs cleaned, okay? Can’t leave it as messy as I suspect it is, if we’ve gotten the whole ground floor cleaned. Then we can get some laundry done.” Jimin cleaned off his plate, looking over at the boy who was devouring the rest of the fish. He chuckled. “When you’re done of course.”

 

“Um-yeah-okay! Though, you can’t go in Master Yoongi’s room, he doesn’t let anyone in there.” Jungkook hurriedly cleaned his own plate off, before heading upstairs. “Um, let me get my stuff in my chest. I, really, you don’t need to go through all my stuff, okay?”

 

Jimin chuckled. “That’s just fine, Jungkook, I don’t need to rifle through your privacy. Let me know when you’re ready, I’ll clean up the bathroom.”

 

The stairs were a mess of patched together pieces and jumbled attempts at making sure movement between floors could happen.

 

Speaking of movement, he could now feel the castle moving underneath him just a bit. He knew, mentally, that the castle moved, it had been moving before, but within the rooms, you couldn't tell.

 

Now, beyond whatever safety spells Yoongi had laced around those parts of the castle, he felt the movement just a bit.

 

He looked around, trying to find some way to look outside, and found a balcony leading out into the open. He flung the door open, eyes wide, and stepped out.

 

“Oh my god, Hoseok! You’re the one moving the castle, aren’t you!” Jimin yelled back towards Hoseok, voice filled with awe.

 

“Of course, I’m the only one who ever does anything useful around here, who else would be moving this monstrous building?” Hoseok called back, something like exasperation in his voice.

 

“It’s amazing! You’re amazing Hobi!!” Jimin replied, sheer joy lifting his hair to dance around his face. The landscape moved at speed, eaten up by the spindly legs that propelled the Castle forward, and a huge lake glinted in the sunlight, still far enough away to be somewhat amorphous. The rolling hills and greenery was gorgeous, brilliant and vibrant and alive.

 

He stood and stared, eyes wide, grin taking up most of his face, at the mountains that framed the landscape, capped white with snow, at the trees and bushes that made everything look stunning.

 

He heard Jungkook’s footsteps. “Isn't it neat? I love to come out here and sit and watch the landscape roll by,” Jungkook said, voice soft.

 

“I don't think I would ever be anywhere else during my free time,” Jimin replied, glowing with joy.

 

Jungkook watched as some of the wrinkles around Jimin’s face faded, some of the youth returning to him, and smiled. His magic sensing wasn’t as good as Master Yoongi’s but even he knew that Jimin had some nasty spell on him when he walked in. He was glad to see it fading in strength somewhat.

 

“Jimin, sir, are you okay?” He wondered if Jimin knew how the spell affected him.

 

Jimin spun to look at Jungkook, decades younger for just an instant. “This is amazing, Jungkook, I've never been better!”

 

Jungkook chuckled. “It is really cool, isn’t it.” He looked over the castle, moving through the scenery at a decent clip. “Wait, what is that stick doing there?” His eyes had landed on a large stick, stuck between some of the plates that made up the castle’s exterior.

 

Jimin followed his finger, then sighed. “Oh, it’s that scarecrow that led me here when I was lost. Friendly guy, for all that they can’t talk. Help me get them out of there, Jungkook, being upside down isn’t the most pleasant thing. Come on, up you go creepy scarecrow dude.”

 

Between the two of them, the scarecrow was soon upright again, and it bounced in thanks on the outer platform of the castle.

 

“Wow, it’s got a turnip for a head,” Jungkook observed.

 

“You should stop finding yourself in weird places upside down, scarecrow friend,” Jimin lectured, a smile on his face. “Alright, Jungkookie, let’s get the cleaning finished, yeah? Before I end up staying out here for ages.”

 

“Okay, Jimin, sir. Let me go finish my room, before you bring a broom and mop in with you.”

 

“I’ve still got the bathroom to go through. Let me know when you’re done.” They split, and Jimin opened the door to the bathroom.

 

And groaned at the sight of all the dyes, strange bottles, and mysterious liquids spilled over half the bathroom. “How does he manage to make such a mess for such a tiny person?” he muttered, before rolling up his sleeves. “Let’s get started, then.”

 

By the time they had finished cleaning, night had fallen and Jimin collapsed into the couch downstairs, groaning, feeling the age in his bones. “Ugh, I am not cut out for cleaning,” he grumbled. “When is Yoongi supposed to be back, Hoseok?”

 

Hoseok pulled another log towards him. “I’m not sure. Yoongi doesn’t really tell me his schedule, for one.”

 

Jimin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fine, fine, I hope he’ll be here tomorrow morning. I’m exhausted. Night, Hoseok. I’ll just sleep here, alright?”

 

“That’s fine, Jimin. I’ll keep the area warm, kay?” Jimin nodded his head, tipping over and conking out nearly immediately.

 

As his face slackened in sleep, the age curse placed on him seemed to fade away, and Hoseok smiled fondly at the boy now slumbering on the couch.

 

Jimin was a ray of sunshine they hadn’t had in the castle in quite a while. Cleaning things up, getting Jungkook to laugh, rejoicing over every small thing he found. His energy was infectious, even when he looked on the far side of sixty.

 

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been keeping an eye on Jimin when the door opened, and Yoongi stumbled in, shedding feathers and groaning in exhaustion.

 

“Yoongi, you're gonna have to figure out a better way to help than flying about all the time. Soon you won't be able to change back.” Hoseok stared at the wizard, concerned.

 

Yoongi collapsed into the chair by the fireplace, the shift from his half bird form slow and agonizing. His magic protested every change he made between the forms, and it got harder and harder to switch every time he did it. “They've bombed the borders, Hoseok. Up all the way to the coast. Refugees are fleeing the fire and destruction, there's practically nothing left, and all I'm good for is taking down a few bombers when I see them and distracting cursed witches and wizards who've turned into monsters in the name of the king.”

 

“I hate fires from bombs. It's always so rude, it doesn't take any one else into consideration, just burning where it pleases, eating all it's fuel and not even considering the future.” Hoseok scoffed. “Bullies and upstarts.”

 

Yoongi quirked a grin. “I'm glad to have your opinions on the nature of fire, Hoseok. Always insightful.” He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them and looking around. “Hoseok, the place looks cleaner.”

 

“Yeah, well, Jimin and Jungkook have been cleaning all day. They’ve done a good job of it, really. Jungkook made sure to keep Jimin out of your room, though.”

 

Yoongi stood up, heading towards the couch Jimin was curled up on. He stopped and looked down at the sleeping young man. He looked so young, the curse fading as sleep took over.

 

Without conscious thought, his fingers traced Jimin’s cheeks. “He’s so young, Hoseok.”

 

“Well, he doesn’t look like it during the day, which is why he’s here. Can you…?” Hoseok sounded hopeful.

 

Yoongi sighed. “This curse isn’t something an outsider can break, Hoseok. Jimin will have to figure out how to on his own.” He brushed the orange fringe from Jimin’s forehead. “I hope he does. Someone this bright doesn’t deserve this kind of curse. Age should be gained slowly, not forced onto someone all at once.”

 

Hoseok’s eyes went wide, but he refrained from saying anything as Yoongi stood up and pulled a blanket from...somewhere, laying it over Jimin’s form. “You’ll be wanting some hot water, then?”

 

“In the morning, yeah. Thanks, Hoseok.”

 

“Get some rest, Yoongi. Please. You’re really looking rough.” Yoongi stood up with a groan. “Sleep, just a bit. Your war efforts can wait until you aren’t about to fall over your feet in exhaustion.”

 

Yoongi flapped a hand. “I’ll give it a bit of a rest tomorrow, Hoseok. Namjoon has been tracking me, I really don’t need him getting closer. And with Jimin here, well, I’m sure the Prince has an eye on this place as well.” Yoongi dragged himself up the stairs. “Move us 55 miles to the west as well. Let’s put some distance between us and the capital. I don’t need those idiots finding the castle itself.”

 

Hoseok groaned. “Heat the water, move the castle. You’re demanding,” he muttered, but complied. All Jimin did was grumble slightly and shift, pulling the blanket up higher, and Hoseok sighed.

 

Well, it was hard to be too upset when bright, cheery Jimin had been so enchanted with the castle earlier.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Jimin jerked awake with the sound of water rushing through pipes. He rubbed at his eyes with gnarled fingers, trying to clear the sleep from them. “Hobi, Yoongi’s back?”

 

“Yeah, and wasting water again, as per the norm. Jungkook’s already up, I think he’s trying to pay you back for breakfast and lunch yesterday. He set up jam and butter and bread.” Hoseok pointed over at the table, and Jimin twirled around.

 

Indeed, Jungkook had set up breakfast, and he was in the process of grabbing plates and silverware and setting them out on the table. “Jimin, sir! You’re awake! I’ve got breakfast, and Master Yoongi is taking a bath. He might be a while, he likes to indulge in baths.”

 

Jimin nodded, stretching and feeling his joints creak and pop. “Being old sucks, Jungkookie. Don’t ever get old. It’s not a good idea.”

 

“I...I don’t think it’s something you can avoid though, Jimin, sir. That’s time.”

 

“Why are you so wise? You’re like, ten.”

 

“Twelve, Jimin, sir. I’m 12.”

 

“Ah, yes, those two years really make all the difference when it comes to existential dread,” Jimin drawled, but he dragged himself off the couch and to the table. “Really though, being old is terrible. I do not recommend it.”

 

“I’ll take that into account. So, breakfast?” Jungkook held up a plate, grinning.

 

“Breakfast. That sounds awesome.”

 

They were halfway through breakfast when indistinct but highly vocal sounds of distress emerged from the upstairs bathroom.

 

“Damnit shit f*ck what the hell I told Jungkook to keep him out of my things! F*cking h*ll!” Yoongi came stumbling out of the bathroom and bumbled down the stairs, a towel wrapped around his slim waist. “What did you do in my bathroom, Jimin?”

 

“What are you babbling about? I didn’t do anything, I just cleaned it up. You had crap everywhere. How did you ever find anything?” Jimin raised an eyebrow as Yoongi pulled his hands down from his hair, one eye glaring out at him. “You have certainly chosen an interesting hair color.”

 

With his long-fingered hands no longer obscuring the color, the light pink color stood out against Yoongi’s pale skin. And, as Jimin watched, it shifted into a mint green. “Why did you rearrange all the potions in the bathroom? You screwed up my system!”

 

“What system? Everything was just laying about! There was no order to that mess! And besides, I think mint looks good on you!”

 

Yoongi’s eyes went wide, and he dashed to a mirror near the stairs. “Argh really?” He slumped down on the stairs, head in his hands. “This is ridiculous. I look like a child, I can’t believe you’ve screwed up my stuff so much.” Pale, tiny, and clad in only a towel and with mint green hair, Yoongi, powerful wizard, sat slumped on the stairs, a frustrated sigh escaping him.

 

“It’s alright Yoongi, it’s just a hair color. I mean, what’s the issue with whatever color your hair is? Mint green looks good on you.” Jimin laid a hand on Yoongi’s shoulder, then pulled it off when something slimy covered it. “What?”

 

“Uh-oh…” Jungkook uttered, and when Jimin looked behind him at the boy, he saw wide eyes staring at Yoongi. “He...this hasn’t happened in a while, but his magic is tied pretty close to his emotions, and when he gets too frustrated, well, it...leaks…” Green slime oozed out from Yoongi’s skin, trailing onto the floor and pooling, starting to move towards the fireplace.

 

“Get him back to the bath, Jimin, if that stuff gets over here, that won’t be good for any of us,” Hoseok called out. “And shake him a bit. He’s overreacting. Really, all this fuss over his hair color and the stuff in his bathroom being rearranged.”

 

Jimin frowned down at the man on the stairs. “Alright, Yoongi. You’re supposed to be some all powerful wizard and I need your help and if you throw a fit over your bathroom products being rearranged to the point of leaking magic in the form of slime everywhere, well, I’m not sure what to think, but it makes you seem childish. I’m sorry I messed with your stuff, I hated it when my little brother moved my things around, but I really was trying to get all the mess cleaned up, and your bathroom was a disaster zone.” He stopped, sighed, looked at Jungkook. “Go find all the towels you can, please? I’ll go drag him to the bathroom. Mop up what you can, I’ll finish it later.”

 

Jimin hoisted Yoongi’s arm over his shoulder, cringing as he felt that slime sink into his clothes. “Jiminie…” Yoongi slurred.

 

“I’m older than you, you brat,” Jimin huffed, knowing he certainly looked older. He lugged Yoongi up the stairs, slightly shocked at how light the wizard was. Did he eat properly?

 

Yoongi laughed under his breath. “You really are a stubborn brat, aren’t you,” he said, voice soft. “I bet you would have knocked those guards out the other day, if I hadn’t been there.”

 

Jimin stared down at the wizard, shocked. “You...what?”

 

“Just...don't touch my stuff, please, okay Jimin? I really don’t like my stuff being messed with.” Yoongi groaned as Jimin set him into the bath, starting to run the water.

 

“Yeah, okay Yoongi. I’ll leave your stuff alone. Just, you don’t need to be so dramatic. Don’t leak your magic everywhere, alright? It’s a pain to clean up and I dunno what it’ll do to you.” Jimin turned the water on, grateful Hoseok had provided more hot water despite the bath Yoongi had already run.

 

Yoongi groaned. “Despite what it looks like, I'm not exactly completely in control of my power. I ditched my apprenticeship partway through. Never finished. Master Namjoon near about killed me for bailing…” the wizard trailed off. “You know, Jimin, I wonder if I woulda ditched if I'd had someone like you around to lecture me when I was stupid.”

 

Jimin sputtered. “I literally wandered into your castle a few days ago, what are you talking about?” He was sure his cheeks were red, but old age and soap suds were good for something, for once.

 

“Yeah, and in two and a half days, you've cleaned the entire castle, gotten Hoseok to act all protective, and charmed Jungkook to pieces. Even now you're in here, helping me.”

 

Jimin frowned. “Well, glad you see it that way. I was always the problem kid, to my mom. Never wanted to do what she wanted me to do, never good enough. My little brother got a respectable job at a bakery, and he’s well on his way to being in charge of it. My mom just thought I was silly for wasting my time on dance and forced me to manage the shop...I hate hats, you know that? They look stupid with all that frippery and absurdity stuck on them. What's wrong with simple?” Jimin dumped soap into the tub and handed Yoongi a washcloth. “And dance is awesome. I mean, I feel alive when I dance...like I could fly.” He looked at Yoongi, face set. “Dancing is better than flying, hands down.”

 

Yoongi snorted. “What's wrong with flying, Jiminie? At least you can't trip over your own feet flying.” He could feel the magic peel off of him under the soap and suds. “And you get to see the world from above. No one else matters when you're flying.”

 

“Yeah, well, when you dance you get to create your own world, and I think that's more special than just watching this one from the clouds.” Jimin crossed his arms.

 

“...will you show me?” Yoongi asked, holding his breath as the curse suddenly drained from Jimin’s body all at once, before it returned, nearly as strong as it had been a few days before.

 

“I'm old, Yoongi, and my feet don't listen to me right and my back aches every time I move,” he said, face downcast, and Yoongi cursed internally.

 

Almost, almost. So close.

 

“Well, you're not so infirm that you can't help me to my room, right? Jungkook’s a bit too tiny to be of much help,” Yoongi said, and Jimin tossed a clean towel at him before he could stand up. “Alright, I get it.”

 

“I'll help you, but you are not walking down these halls naked, no matter how powerful a wizard you are.”

 

Yoongi chuckled, but took the offered shoulder and led Jimin to his room, before sending him away so he could get dressed, sighing to himself.

 

Why was he so drawn to this man? Jimin was barely into his twenties, he was sure, and carrying a fairly strong curse of his own. Just what Yoongi needed, someone else carrying a curse in his castle, as if the ones he had weren’t bad enough.

 

But he couldn’t get over that insanely cheerful smile, shining in a way no human had the right too. How his cheeks bunched up when he wasn’t paying attention, the curse having slipped some. Yeah, Jimin would probably find his cure here in the castle, but at what cost to the rest of them?

 

Whatever it was, Yoongi would probably happily pay it, if it meant that he could watch those eyes light up when something caught his attention. Even if it was from a distance.

 

He groaned, falling into his bed and staring at the ceiling, home to a number pens he had flung up there in a fit of frustration.

 

He didn’t have time to be worrying about a cursed young man in his castle, even if that was half of what occupied his thoughts. He had Namjoon breathing down his neck, the Prince’s curse on him, and the war looming overhead. It was only a matter of time before it reached the main parts of the country.

 

He buried his head in his pillow. He hated being responsible, sometimes.

 

He was so far gone, he didn’t hear Jimin knock on the door, or hear him enter the room.

 

“Yoongi? Are you alright?”

 

He definitely heard that, and he shot up in bed, eyes wide. “Jimin, what...what are you doing here?”

 

Jimin shrugged helplessly. “When I was feeling out of sorts, my mom used to make me hot chocolate...Jungkook dug up some chocolate from a cabinet somewhere and Hoseok let me heat up the milk...I just thought you would appreciate something warm to drink…”

 

Well, Yoongi thought, he was definitely not finding this tooth achingly sweet at all.

 

He swallowed down the lump in his throat, and held out his hand for the cup. “Thanks, Jimin...I’m just stressed. This war...out on the border, were the bombings are, it’s just blackened dirt and ash and people fleeing the fighting.” He laid an arm over his eyes. “I hate fighting.”

 

“Is that...is that what you’re doing when you’re gone all day?” Jimin asked, hesitant.

 

“I do what I can. Master Namjoon may be all for peace and harmony, but he knows how to be ruthless, and there’s dozens of foolish wizards and witches willing to throw themselves into the cause. It’s ugly, Jimin.”

 

Jimin was silent for a moment. “I know why the war escalated, I’m not foolish, and Taehyungie used to be my friend, when I was a kid. We lived in the capital, and mum was part of the staff at the palace. We used to play together since meetings are boring and we were like, seven. It’s been years since I saw him last, Yoongi, but when he vanished, my heart clenched. He’s a prince, of course he would be in danger all the time, but to go missing like that? Is he dead? Do you know?”

 

Yoongi peered over at Jimin with a thoughtful eye. “I didn’t know you knew the prince, Jiminie. Friends in high places.”

 

Jimin flushed. “No, it’s just...we were the only kids in the palace. I think both our parents liked it when we could occupy ourselves instead of bothering them. I was...nine or so when I last saw him.”

 

“Well, to answer your question, no I don’t know what’s happened to your old friend. He’s about vanished off the face of the planet, which I didn’t think was possible. And his vanishing is really not helping the political tension. And I have two official orders to present myself to the king. Signed oath and all that bs.” He sunk back into the pillows, a groan of frustration escaping. He hated being tied to the palace with that stupid oath.

 

There was a small chiming noise, and he groaned, turning over in his bed and shoving his face into the pillow.

 

“What...what was that?” Jimin asked.

 

“The Prince is looking for the castle. The louder it chimes, the closer he is. That arrogant idiot…”

 

“Why is he searching for you?”

 

Yoongi sighed, rolling over to stare at his pen-filled ceiling. “We used to be in the same program together, at the academy. He’s a bit older than me, but I was better at some of the things he always struggled in. He made it a kind of rivalry, to be better than me at everything. He excelled at potions and illusions, far better than I would be, but at practical spell casting and application, I outstripped all of our peers. He was jealous, and ended up making some unsavory deals. The result is the Prince.” Yoongi made a vague gesture. “He's been after me ever since.”

 

“So that note earlier?”

 

“His way of trying to force me into a confrontation. I’m avoiding it as much as possible but, well, I can’t forever.” He grimaced, groaned.

 

Jimin knotted his fingers together, a frown creasing his face even further. “I wish there was more I could do, though...I mean, I’m sorta useless right now, really. I’m old and slow and not particularly helpful. I can’t do magic like Jungkookie, or whatever it is Hoseok does to keep us all warm and safe and moving, or protecting people like you do when you vanish during the day.” Jimin looked down at his hands, and Yoongi wanted to curse in frustration. But that would just make it worse.

 

“Jiminie, thank you, for the hot chocolate, for listening to me complain, everything you’ve done. Really. You’re thoughtful and kind.” Jimin just continued looking down at his hands. “There is something you can do, that only you can do, if you’re up for it?” Yoongi offered, not really sure why he was offering it in the first place.

 

~~~~

 

This, however, was how Jimin found himself outside the castle in Kingsbury, dressed in his oversized sweatshirt he insisted on wearing despite Yoongi protesting, holding a rather elegant cane, and ready to head towards the palace.

 

“You’ll be keeping an eye on me, right?” Jimin confirmed once more, looking hard at Yoongi, trying to hide his nerves.

 

“I wouldn’t send you to Master Namjoon without keeping an eye on you, Jimin,” Yoongi reassured him. He dug around in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a thick banded ring with a red jewel embedded in it. “Here, wear this. If you get misplaced or lost, use this to find Hoseok and the castle again. It’ll follow your heart’s wish.”

 

Jimin tilted his head, eyebrow raised. “A ring?”

 

“Metal and stone are easier to embed certain kinds of spells in. Let me have your hand.” Yoongi took his left without waiting for Jimin to offer it, sliding the ring on before shoving his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. “Just keep an eye out for the Prince, alright? He’s a pain, and I’d rather you not get any more tangled up with him than you have been already.” He slouched back into the castle. “And...be safe, okay Jimin?”

 

Jimin grinned, tamping down on the fear. “That’s what I have you for, right?” he said, and walked off before Yoongi could scowl at him in retaliation.

 

The capital wasn’t too busy, and he made it to the palace in fairly decent time, considering his physical state. He glanced about, wondering if Yoongi was following him physically or with some strange spying spell of his.

 

He doubted Yoongi had actually transformed into anything, having a startling affection for all black everything when he could get away with it, so he figured there was some kind of spell placed on him to keep track of him, just in case.

 

“Ah, yes, the boy from the hat shop. See you still haven’t shaken the curse. Did Yoongi like my little love note, hm?”

 

Jimin started at the voice, recognizing the sly tones. “The Prince. What are you doing here?” The Prince sat in a small box carried by two of his black blobby servants, looking regal and way too self assured. His hair was as pink as it was just earlier that week (had it really only been a few days ago? It felt like so much longer…).

 

“I was summoned. As was Yoongi, I would assume. Has he sent his newest toy in his stead?”

 

“I’m his uncle. Yoongi’s ill, he isn’t able to make the summons.” It was the story they had agreed on, seeing as Jimin and Yoongi looked nothing alike and couldn’t pass off a closer blood relationship.

 

“Uncle, huh. Well, I’m sure Master Namjoon will be pleased to see you all the same. I don’t think Yoongi ever deigned to bring his family to the palace while he was studying under Master Namjoon.” This was said with a knowing smirk, before the box holding the Prince moved away faster than Jimin could possibly catch up to.

 

“I really hate that guy,” Jimin muttered under his breath. “He’s so frustrating and self important and smug.” The stairs were close, and it was right as the Prince’s box reached the base of them, his black blob servants started to shrivel and fall apart, the box thumping to the ground. “Well, at least he has to walk as well.”

 

The Prince glared out his window. “I could have sworn Namjoon would have gotten rid of that infernal spell by now,” he complained loud enough for Jimin to hear, before he groaned and stepped out the door. “Don’t say a word,” he warned Jimin.

 

“What, why would I? You clearly look younger than me, I would be the one having issues with the stairs, if either of us did.” Jimin gestured between the two of them.

 

The Prince frowned at him, but turned his back and started up the stairs without another word.

 

“Rude,” Jimin muttered, but followed him up. “Who’s idea was it to have so many stairs,” he muttered, his knees protesting. “I hate stairs right now. They’re evil, terrible things.” He looked up, glad to see the top only a few steps away. “I hate being old.”

 

The castle wasn’t much different from what he remembered, and he headed to the waiting room with a gesture from the door guard. Inside, the Prince was reclining on the only chair in the room, and he rolled his eyes.

 

Of course the Prince would take the only chair available.

 

“You should respect your elders,” he snapped irritably.

 

“Well, Uncle, when I see one I’ll be sure to follow your advice.”

 

Jimin pursed his lips, but wasn’t able to respond before a small boy, just a bit taller than Jungkook. “Master Namjoon will see you now, Mr. Min.”

 

Jimin twitched at his fake family name, but followed the boy into what he remembered being the antechamber next to the throne room.

 

Sat in the middle was a man of some years, his dark hair going slightly gray at the temples, the beginnings of age lines forming on his face, long fingered hands steepled.

 

Jimin took the chair placed directly in front of the older wizard, hesitance in every line of his body. A small, white dog was curled up beside the elderly man’s chair. Black eyes opened to stare at him for a moment, before they dismissed him, and Jimin tried to settle his nerves.

 

“Mr. Min, I’m glad to see someone in that family knows how to find the palace. I was beginning to think Yoongi had up and abandoned his duties to the crown. I am master Namjoon, the king’s Head Sorcerer.” Master Namjoon’s voice was calm, soothing, almost hypnotic, and Jimin had to shake himself to keep from falling under its spell.

 

“Um, yeah, well, Yoongi’s ill. He can barely get out of bed and complains every single time someone makes a noise. I’m afraid he’s quite useless when it comes to your cause,” Jimin said, the words tumbling out of his lips as he tried to fall into the role of Yoongi’s caring but exasperated uncle.

 

“I see. Yoongi was always more inclined to complaining, when he wasn’t busy wearing himself thin at some project or other. Such a shame. His gift would be invaluable to the war effort. Shutting himself away in that insane project of his.” Namjoon shook his head, a clear frown of disapproval on his face.

 

Jimin shook, angry on behalf of the wizard who always looked so ragged and on edge, who vanished for the whole day, only to drag himself in when everyone else was asleep. “Yoongi’s a good kid. He does what he can. Why does he need to do it under your control?” he asked, trying to keep his anger under control. Yoongi had taken him in when he didn’t need to, had let him take over caring for Jungkook without a word, and Jimin could feel himself becoming fonder of the man who looked too skinny by half and was more ornery when he was around than he was smiling.

 

“Yoongi is still young, he ditched his apprenticeship, and he experiments far too much with his magic. He will kill himself one day, if he isn’t careful. With the war edging ever closer, he will be drawn inexorably to it. He would be safer here, where I could direct his talents. His powers are far too great for someone without a heart.”

 

“Yoongi’s strong enough to stand on his own! Why would he need to be under your guidance when he’s done well enough for himself to hide from you? How could he know you would use his magic for peace and not just for more endless destruction? This war is idiotic! Taehyungie’s missing and there’s political tension, but that’s no reason to start bombing each other! And now you want to drag a powerful wizard into it to use him as a final option?” Jimin rose to his feet, bristling. Yoongi would probably scoff, he did at so much else, but Jimin couldn’t stand to sit here and listen to someone subtly threaten him. The small, slight man with more aura than body was working his way into Jimin’s life, and, when he had time later, he would examine what that meant.

 

At the moment, it just served to anger him on behalf of the wizard who wasn’t there to defend himself.

 

Namjoon raised an eyebrow. _‘Ah, so that’s where Taehyung’s little friend got to. I had wondered.’_ he thought as Jimin’s passion proved to be no match for the curse Namjoon could all but taste on him and faded. “I see. Such a strong connection you’ve forged. It’s almost as if you loved him.” He saw Jimin flinch a bit at the observation. “You speak as if Yoongi were the be-all-end-all to this war, but it’s more than that. Yoongi...when he showed up at the Academy as a child, I thought I had finally found someone who could take over my position. I won’t be getting any younger, there’s no spell that works in reverse, and Yoongi had such potential. Then he made a deal with a demon and abandoned his studies, holing himself up in that castle of his and hiding from his responsibilities.”

 

“He does what he can, who are you to try and control his actions?” Jimin tried to argue back, his heart beating wildly in his chest. “What kind of deal would make such an impact that you would be desperate to have him under your control?”

 

“Does Yoongi know he has such a loyal ally in you?” Namjoon wondered. “I have rarely seen such defense in the name of someone barely known.”

 

Jimin clenched his fist. “Yoongi’’s been nothing but kind to me,” he started, before a door opened up and one of the young boys came, the Prince looking bedraggled, limp, and weak on a wheelchair in front of him. “What...what’s happened to him?”

 

“Ah, yes, Seokjin. Another promising student, but greed and jealousy got the better of him, and he made a devastating deal, losing his humanity in the process. I merely stripped him of his magic, and the curse. I can’t have wizards and witches out of control within the kingdom,” Namjoon said, voice calm and even.

 

“So this was nothing more than a trap! Lure Yoongi and the Prince here, and take their magic, all because you can’t control them!” Jimin yelled, furious.

Namjoon shook his head. “If Yoongi would show up and agree to place himself under my tutelage once again, I would help him get rid of his demon. If not, then he is little better than a liability.”

 

Jimin wasn’t sure why he was so angry. “Yoongi doesn’t need your help, he can get rid of his demon on his own, I know it.”

 

Namjoon sat back. “I’m not so sure Yoongi really wants to get rid of his demon, and until it’s too late, I fear he won’t even realize the consequences”

 

“Well, he’s not coming here, that’s for sure,” Jimin stated, as the buzzing of an incoming plane filled the room.

 

“Oh, I’m not too sure about that,” Master Namjoon said, as a door opened and a man dressed in flight gear with medals and gold trim walked in. “Your Majesty,” Master Namjoon said.

 

“Master Namjoon,” the king, apparently, said. “Mr. Min, it’s nice to see you.”

 

Jimin’s eyes were wide. “M-your majesty,” he said bowing slightly. The man barely looked like he remembered as a child.

 

“I’ve decided against using magic in this war. We’ve tried having Master Namjoon shield the capital, but bombs fall on civilian homes instead,” the king said still addressing Jimin.

 

Jimin could see the amusement on namjoon’s face, poorly hidden.

 

A moment later, that amusement was answered as another orange hair man sporting a bushy mustache walked in “Namjoon! I’ve got a new battle plan! This time we’re gonna beat them to a pulp!” Then he stopped, looked over at his double, and laughed. “That’s the best double you’ve made of me yet! Keep up the good work!” He turned with another laugh and left, calling for his generals.

 

“Good afternoon, Yoongi. So glad to see you know where the palace is.”

 

Jimin turned wide eyes on the double, only to see Yoongi, a good eight centimeters shorter, mint hair tucked under a cap. “Well, I couldn’t just leave my uncle here, could I?”

 

“I thought I thought you to make better illusions.”

 

“My goal wasn’t to fool you, Master Namjoon. I’m just here for him. And I’ve fulfilled my end of my oath. I reported when summoned. Now Uncle and I will be going.” Yoongi scowled at Namjoon.

 

“Always so ornery. You know, Yoongi, if you directed that irritability towards more productive means, you’d be quite spectacular.”

 

A buzzing noise filled the air, and then the ground seemed to fall away. Jimin clung tighter to Yoongi, gasping. “The floor...Yoongi…”

 

“Don’t look down. It’s alright.” Yoongi held Jimin tighter as the spell took shape around them.

 

Small lights, stars, fell around them, reminding him of his past, landing with bursts of light, fizzling out or springing up as a burning, brilliant demon. They circled them, chanting filling the air, and Yoongi felt his magic seize up inside him, forcing the change from man to beast through his body.

 

It hurt. It always hurt. This time, though, this time it burned, his mind affected alongside his body.

 

Jimin turned, looking up at Yoongi, terrified of the lights, only to see feathers, black as the clothes he preferred to wear, sprouting from his face, neck, arms, wings pushing themselves out from his back. That delicate face was a mask of insanity and pain.

 

“Yoongi, Yoongi, it’s a trap! Stop it, it’s a trap!” Jimin turned, pressing his hands against Yoongi’s face, hoping something would jar the wizard back into consciousness.

 

It worked, as Yoongi suddenly stopped snarling, then jerked them upwards. Jimin felt a weight on his foot as Yoongi lifted them out of the illusion and out of the palace itself. He was in a daze, shocked, at the intensity of everything that had happened, uncertain what exactly was going on.

 

Jimin finally came to his senses when Yoongi set them down on one of those rickety planes that were popular in the capital and started the engine, lifting them off the ground without a moment to spare, as there were already soldiers chasing after them.

 

“Yoongi, are you okay?” Jimin immediately fussed over him hands fluttering over the wizard’s slight frame.

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine, Jimin. Thanks, I mean, I woulda been lost back there. Namjoon always knew how to get to me…” Yoongi shook his shoulders. “Let’s get out of here, before those poor excuses for soldiers catch up with us.” He suddenly frowned, looking at the two hanger ons. “Did you have to bring the Prince and Namjoon’s dog with you?”                

 

Jimin looked back at the two passengers.

 

The prince still looked dull and slightly lifeless, listing. The white dog that had been curled up beside Master Namjoon woofed at him softly.

 

“Didn’t exactly choose to bring them along, Yoongi. I think they hitched a ride.”

 

Yoongi groaned. “Too high to push them off now.”

 

“You can’t be contemplating that! They’d die!”

 

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. “And? Fine, you’re responsible for them. Now, you’re gonna have to fly this back to the castle, I’ll distract the guards.”

 

Jimin’s eyes went wide. “Me, fly this?! I’ve never even been on one before now! You can’t expect me to fly one!”

 

“You’ll do fine, Jimin, I have faith.” Yoongi laid his hand over Jimin’s over, wrinkled one. “Use the ring I gave you. Think of the castle and of Hoseok, it’ll guide you right home, alright?”

 

Jimin looked down at the silver band with the red stone in it Yoongi had given him earlier. “Just...think of Hobi?” he said,and as he said it, a light burst from the stone, pointing off towards the wastes. “Ooooh,” Jimin breathed.

 

“Follow that light and you’ll be fine, alright Jimin?” Yoongi’s eyes were worried, tight and pinched.

 

Jimin nodded. “We’ll be okay, Yoongi, you stay safe, please?”

 

“I can give you five minutes of invisibility, Jimin, so get out of here. I’ll distract them.”

 

“Stay safe, Yoongi, alright?” Jimin repeated, grabbing the hem of Yoongi’s jacket. “Come back to the castle in one piece, please?”

 

Yoongi’s face softened. “I’ll do my best, Jimin.” He straightened. “Now get going.” He wove the illusion around them, and watched Jimin, now invisible to all but himself, veer off towards the light that led to his castle.

 

He would have watched longer, wanting to make sure they would be safe, but he had guards to shake off, along with a dozen or so wizards and witches, by the feel of it.

 

With a groan he jerked the illusionary plane in the opposite direction Jimin was flying and took off towards the border, needing to distract them sufficiently until the invisibility spell wore off.

 

All of them turned to follow. He may not be as good as The Prince with illusions, but he was a damn sight better than any other student that had passed through the academy. Not every wizard could spell a moving craft invisible for any length of time.

 

He hoped it was enough for Jimin make it back home.

 

~~~~

 

The rain had started maybe half an hour after Yoongi left them, cold and unforgiving. Jimin persevered though, knowing that the castle had to be close.

 

Even if he had been flying in the rain for nearly twenty minutes.

 

He looked back at the prince, the bane of his troubles, and Master Namjoon’s dog, who had decided to hitch a ride for reasons he couldn’t fathom. Why? Did Master Namjoon use the dog as some kind of spy? Jimin didn’t know much about magic, but that was a valid theory.

 

He sighed, looking forward. “We’ll be out of the rain soon, guys. Though really, why you all decided to come along with us baffles me.” Jimin gripped the wheel tighter. “The castle should be close by. I’m sure.”

 

Almost as if it were fate, he heard the creaking of the castle’s joints and the clack of the moving parts over the rain, and soon saw it moving towards them.

 

“It’s coming to us! Hoseok! Hoseok! We’re coming in!” He paused, fumbled around. “Um, Hoseok, I don’t know where the brake is!”

 

As if Hoseok could hear him, the giant mouth on the front of the castle opened and swallowed them whole.

 

And they crashed into the side of the castle with a _bang_.

 

“Oh crap, Yoongi’s gonna be pissed about the wall,” Jimin grumbled, pulling his body out of the mess. “Hoseok, thanks for coming to meet us!”

 

“You okay there Jimin?” Hoseok called out. “You sent quite the cloud of dust right into my face. Almost smothered me!” He coughed. “You sure know how to make an entrance.”

 

“Yoongi didn’t exactly give me any instructions on how to fly that thing, he just sent me off. I’m lucky we didn’t crash!” Jimin pulled the uncomplaining Prince out from the rubble, lifted up a small stone to let the dog jump out. “Sorry, we have a few guests.”

 

Hoseok’s eyes went wide. “You...you brought the Prince to the castle?! Are you _insane_?”

 

“I wasn’t about to push him off the plane when we were already flying, Hoseok. Besides, Master Namjoon said he stripped him of his magic, that he’s just a normal person like me.” Jimin set the prince on a chair, noting how he didn’t even seem to move, eyes glazed. “He hasn’t moved since he latched onto my foot and got dragged along when Yoongi flew us out of the palace.”

 

Hoseok scowled, but relented.

 

“Jimin! Jimin! You’re back!” Jungkook plowed into Jimin’s body, eyes wide and red from worry, hands fisting in Jimin’s clothes. “You took ages and ages, and then Hoseok said you called him, and we had to go meet you, and I was so worried Jimin!”

 

Jimin laughed. “Breath, Jungkookie, breath. I’m okay, I’m here. Have you been alright?”

 

Jungkook just buried his face into Jimin’s stomach, so Jimin wrapped him in a hug.

 

“He doesn’t do well alone, and he’s gotten used to you. He was a ball of anxiety for the past couple hours,” Hoseok said.

 

“Well, I’m back, and I don't plan on going anywhere, alright?”

 

Jungkook looked up at him, face serious. “You promise?”

 

Jimin held up a hand. “I swear, Jungkook. I’ve found I rather like this strange home of yours, and who would cook your meals if I left? You might be stuck with whatever Yoongi can manage to not burn, from the stories Hoseok told me,” Jimin said, laughing.

 

Jungkook giggled. “Alright. Um…” Jungkook peered around Jimin. “What are we going to do about the hole in the wall? And those two?” He pointed at the two interlopers.

 

Jimin shrugged. “I suppose we’ll have to wait till Yoongi gets back to figure out the best thing to do. For now, I’m exhausted. Let’s get some dinner, I’ll set some aside for Yoongi so he’ll have something hot to eat when he makes it back, and then I’m ready to pass out.”

 

Jungkook nodded, and dinner was made as quickly as Jimin could move. Jungkook, yawning, was promptly sent off to bed, and Jimin sat on the couch, sighing.

 

The Prince, Seokjin, if Jimin remembered the name correctly, was still listless on the chair he had placed him in. The white, fluffy dog was still curled up at Seokjin’s feet, huffing occasionally but otherwise content to remain where he was.

 

“Hoseok, was it a mistake to bring them with me?” he asked, looking over at the fire.

 

Hoseok chewed on a piece of wood. “Well, I can tell from here that the Prince has no more magic, he’s far less of a threat than he was before. He could still cause problems, of course, but he’s not nearly as dangerous. As for the dog,” Hoseok paused, peering over at the animal. “I’m not even sure what’s going on with it. There’s magic all over, but what does what, I have no clue. You’ll have to wait for Yoongi to come back.”

 

Jimin sighed, leaning back on the couch. “Thanks, Hoseok. For everything. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.” He closed his eyes, kicking off his shoes and curling up under the blanket. “I’m glad I found this place.”

 

Hoseok smiled, eyes soft. “We’re all glad you found this place, Jimin.”

 

It wasn’t much later that the door opened, and Yoongi, or something resembling the wizard, ghosted up the stairs.

 

“Oh god, Yoongi, what’s wrong? Oh no, this is bad, this is really really bad. You’ve gone too far!” Hoseok panicked, flickering brighter.

 

Yoongi was little more than a transparent frame of a human, edges fuzzy and lacking all definition. He didn’t even touch the floor as he moved through the castle, didn’t say a word to Hoseok, merely stopping briefly by Jimin’s couch, before moving up the stairs.

 

He dropped charred feathers the whole way.

 

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Yoongi, you’ve really done it this time,” Hoseok called after him, and Jimin jerked awake, his eyes wide, his face young.

 

“Is...is Yoongi back?” He asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

 

“He is...but...Jimin, I don’t...he’s…” Hoseok fumbled for words, but he needn’t have.

 

Beside Jimin’s foot was one of the feathers, and the moment Jimin went to pick it up, it dissolved in his hand, turning to ash.

 

Jimin was on his feet and heading towards the stairs before Hoseok could get in another word, worry and fear coating his body.

 

Was Yoongi okay? Was he safe? Was he hurt?

 

Jimin ignored the ‘Keep Out’ sign on the door and rushed into Yoongi’s room, back through the passages beyond his bed, following the trail of feathers.

 

A mass of black, almost a wall, had him skidding to a stop, and he started glancing around fearfully for blood. “Yoongi? Yoongi? Can you hear me? Please Yoongi, are you alright?”

 

A rustling, a groan. “Jimin, what are you doing here? Go away!”

 

Jimin scowled, clenching his fist. “You saved me from Master Namjoon and those guards today, and you come back dropping charred feathers and leaving ashy footprints all the way into your room! What am I supposed to think, Yoongi!” His voice was harsh with tears and worry. “I’m scared for you!”

 

Yoongi’s chuckle was humorless. “You should be worried about yourself and your own curse.”

 

“I think I can multi task quite well! Don't tell me what I can or can’t worry about! You’re important to me!” Jimin rested a fist by his heart. “What would Jungkook do without you, or Hoseok? What...what would I do without you and your snark and your kindness?”

 

Yoongi twirled around, facing Jimin head on. “I’m a monster Jimin, I’m not someone you should be worried about!” His face was definitely not human, not completely, but Jimin had gotten used to the kindness he saw in Yoongi’s eyes when he thought no one was looking, or when he looked at Jungkook and Hoseok.

 

Those same eyes that looked at him now. “No matter what you look like on the outside, you’re still the wizard that let me into your castle and cared enough to rescue me, to talk to me. I don’t care that you sometimes don’t look human.” Jimin reached out a hand, and Yoongi flinched. “Please, Yoongi, please, let me help.”

 

“I...I can’t let you get dragged into my mess, Jimin. I can’t…” There was a huge rustle of feathers. “Please, just go back to bed, Jimin. Please leave me alone.”

 

Jimin tried not to let the tears slip down his cheeks. “I...why do you have to push everyone away? I can’t leave you alone, Yoongi, I can’t.” He wasn’t ready to say words he wasn’t confident in yet, but his heart seized at the thought of Yoongi, alone and suffering.

 

The heavy sigh echoed  through the vast, empty tunnels. “Goodbye Jimin,” he said, before leaving in a flurry of feathers and wind, and Jimin aged behind him, hand held to his heart and tears streaming down his face.

 

~~~~~

 

Jimin woke up to the sound of the bath running, and he sighed, feeling the dried tears on his cheeks when he went to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

 

“Good morning, Jimin.” Hoseok’s voice was as cheery as it always was, and Jimin felt the frustration well up in him.

 

“How can you be so cheerful? Didn’t you see Yoongi’s state when he came back?! Doesn’t this have something to do with you?” Jimin glared at the fire demon, and Hoseok shrunk back.

 

“I...I...Jimin, there’s nothing I can do! I’m as trapped in this curse as he is, why do you think I stay around here? I mean, yeah, Yoongi and Jungkook are nice and all, but fire demons aren’t made to heat up water for selfish wizards and move giant castles! What do you want me to do?” Hoseok threw his spindly fire arms up in the air.

 

Jimin groaned, turning to put his face into the back of the couch. “I can’t...I can’t just sit here and watch him die, Hoseok. I can’t.”

 

Hoseok slouched into the burning wood, knowing that Jimin had a point, but he truly couldn’t tell him how to break the curse. “You’re the key to breaking it, Jimin, that’s all I know. Something about you, you can do it. But...beyond that, I can’t tell you anything. Helpful or otherwise.”

 

Jimin sunk down, feeling the weight of his artificial years press down on him. “I’m trying Hobi, I’m trying.”

 

It was just moments later when Yoongi came bounding down the stairs, far more energetic than he should rightly be, considering the state he arrived back in. “It’s moving day!” he announced, eyes bright.

 

“Moving day?” Jimin echoed.

 

Jungkook’s face appeared at the top of the stairs. “Are we moving, Master Yoongi? For real?” He padded down the stairs, eyes wide, starting to smile. “Cause it would be really awesome to move! And you can fix up that hole Jimin left in the wall!” Jungkook pointed at said hole.

 

Jimin groaned. “Oh, I forgot all about that. Why did you have to remind me?” he said, and Jungkook giggled.

 

“That must have been quite the...landing, Jimin,” Yoongi said, eying the wall with amusement. “Or would crashing be a better term for what you did? I mean, you got the Prince and Namjoon’s dog in past Hoseok’s wards, I could only assume crashing.”

 

“Well, you were the one who didn’t teach me how to land,” Jimin replied back, a bit of bite in his words. “What else was I supposed to do?”

 

Yoongi just chuckled softly, peering out. “Well, hello there, scarecrow.”

 

Jimin rushed to the hole. “Oh, I wondered where he had gotten to! I’d hoped he’d not ended up upside down in anything again. Been doing okay?” He directed the question at the scarecrow, who hopped up and down in reply. “Good.”

 

“You make friends with the oddest creatures, Jimin,” Yoongi said. “And I’m sorry, but your scarecrow friend can’t come with us on this move.” He looked at the scarecrow. “You’re curse is a bit too powerful for the spells I’ll be using. Why do you have to make friends with everything cursed, Jimin?” Yoongi complained halfheartedly.

 

“Jungkook’s not cursed,” Jimin said.

 

“Only cause he isn’t old enough to actually get into the kind of trouble cursing would entail.”

 

Jungkook protested, “I would never get myself cursed! Aren’t the four of you enough of an example to avoid it?” He pointed at them all. “Me and the dog will sit over here being not cursed, thank you.” He huffed, scooping the sleeping white dog up and plopping down in a chair.

 

“Brat,” Yoongi said, fondness in his voice. “Help me get set up for this move, Jungkook.”

 

Jungkook sighed but put the dog on the ground and stood up. “I’ll go get the chalk. The stuff with the blue label, right? It’s sparkles a bit and feels warm.”

 

“Good memory. Go on.” Yoongi gestured up the stairs. “Don’t touch anything else in there, unless you wanna see what kind of curse I could put on a 12 year old!”

 

Jungkook waved dismissively and headed up the stairs.

 

Jimin giggled. “You two are adorable, you’re like his dad!” he said.

 

Yoongi ran a hand through his hair. “Well, he’s been my charge for nearly three years now, so I’m the closest thing he has to a dad. Parents weren’t exactly the most loving people on the planet, so he was safer with me, even with all the trouble I get into.” He peered at the stairs. “He’s smart. He’ll make a great wizard someday. He’s got the focus for it, and he loves magic.” The smile on his face was small and warm, and Jimin felt himself melt at it. “It’s always better when they love magic.”

 

Jimin glanced over at the still listless Seokjin. “Didn’t...didn’t you two love magic?”

 

“I still love magic, but I’m also...I’m afraid of it, sometimes. What it can do, what those who don’t care about human lives do with it. Seokjin...he must have loved magic, at some point. But he ended up seeing it as a way to best those around him, and it became a power game for him. Until it consumed him.” Yoongi looked at the lanky, pink haired man. “Without magic, he must feel empty.”

 

“Will...will he be okay?”

 

Yoongi shrugged. “We’ll have to wait until he comes to his senses. He’s probably still reeling. Namjoon didn’t just strip him of his curse, he took his magic away as well. The old master was always tricky about punishments, and Seokjin’s done a lot to deserve this, but he was a classmate of mine.” Yoongi trailed off, and Jimin laid a hand on his shoulder, offering what comfort he could.

 

When a slim, pale hand covered his, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. At least he could give this.

 

Jungkook came stomping down the steps moments later, letting them break the moment naturally.

 

Yoongi’s hand was warm, so different from the chill that insisted on chilling his fingers most of the time. He almost wished he could just take Jimin’s hand in his and keep it there.

 

Rather than get caught up in wishes and desires, he took the chalk from Jungkook. “Alright, you know the indoor prep, so get started. I'll come in and finish it off when I've got the outside done.”

 

“Yes Master Yoongi!” Jungkook, eyes bright, bounced off to grab a rag and a bucket and proceeded to scrub one particular section of the floorboards within an inch of its life.

 

“Jungkookie, what are you doing? What has that section of flooring done to you?”

 

Jungkook looked up at him. “It's not that, it's just...when Master Yoongi puts down the rune, it has to be spotless. So I hafta clean it really well.”

 

Jimin shook his head, wandering outside to see what the wizard himself was doing.

 

Yoongi was clearing the ground of rocks, along with the dog and Mr. Scarecrow. “Need any help?”

 

“We’re good, thanks! These two have been more helpful than I anticipated. Monie and our scarecrow friend are pretty good at following directions.” Yoongi smiled at him, and he felt his heart leap into his throat. “Just the rune left, and then I'll duplicate it inside and we can start the move.”

 

Jimin nodded. “Alright then. Mind if I watch? This is sorta cool.”

 

“Be my guest. Alright guys, go stand over there by Jimin, I can't mess this up.” The dog, Monie, and the scarecrow joined Jimin by the castle, and Yoongi went about drawing the rune in chalk powder with speed and efficiency.

 

“He's good,” Jimin said, somewhat awed. Monie huffed next to him.

 

Within just a few moments, he had finished, and he called up to Hoseok. “Line her up Hobi!”

 

The Castle stood, walking a few paces forward until it was in the center of the rune circle.

 

“Inside now?”

 

“Yep. Though, Mr. Scarecrow, as I said before, you'll have to wait outside.”

 

The scarecrow hopped sadly in understanding, turning away and heading towards a nearby ridge.

 

“Why are we moving, Yoongi?” Jimin asked, curious.

 

“After that stunt I pulled at the palace, there's no doubt the king and Namjoon are looking all over for me. Might as well make it a bit more difficult. The old places are too well known, gotta find a new town to settle into.” Yoongi pulled Jimin into the castle, keeping a firm grip on his hand. “Sit on the table, feet off the floor, bring Monie with you. I’ll get Seokjin up there with you.” He looked over at his apprentice. “Jungkook, I’m gonna need your help keeping Seokjin stable, since he doesn’t seem too keen on sitting up on his own.”

 

“Okay, Master Yoongi.”

 

The two of them wrestled Seokjin into place, and then Jimin, Jungkook, Monie, and Seokjin were all sitting on the table.

 

Yoongi grabbed a shovel and held it out towards Hoseok.

 

“Be careful with me, Yoongi,” the fire demon said, scooting onto the shovel.

 

Jimin could see something pulsing within the fire, and he wondered if that was the core of the demon.

 

“Alright, everyone, hold on.” Yoongi stood in the center of the rune he’d drawn on the patch of floor Jungkook had scrubbed clean, breathing in deeply.

 

Then Hoseok flared up, growing bigger and brighter, shifting colors until he was nearly white, with purple licking up the sides.

 

The room vibrated, shook, violently shifting and altering around them.

 

Three new doors appeared, a few large couches popped into existence,  the fireplace shifted into an oval form, several windows appeared over the back wall, the ceiling went upwards by nearly half a meter, and the junk Jimin had been unable to find homes for just...vanished.

 

Well, that explained why Jungkook never really learned how to clean.

 

A few moments later, everything calmed down and Hoseok shrunk back to the size of a normal fire. Jungkook slipped off the table, awe in his eyes.

 

“Wow, Master Yoongi, this place looks amazing!” He looked around, cautious, before whooping and zooming through the room. “I’ve never seen the castle so big before!”

 

“Jimin, come see.” Yoongi held out a hand, having set Hoseok into the new fireplace. “I’ve made a room for you.”

 

Jimin took his hand, surprise playing across his face. “A room for me?”

 

“Well, you can’t just sleep on the couch, I’m sure it’s not that comfortable, so adding a room was just common sense. Come see!” Yoongi tugged him insistently forward, and Jimin couldn’t deny him. The wizard hadn’t looked so excited before.

 

When he swung open a door, Jimin peered inside, only for his eyes to pop wide open, and he slipped past Yoongi’s tiny frame to get a better look.

 

There was a bed in the back, separated by a partition from the main area, but that wasn’t what had caught his attention.

 

Rather, it was the wall covered floor to ceiling with mirrors, the smooth floor, the sound system arranged on all sides of the room, the gleaming lights. “Yoongi...what...what is this…?”

 

Yoongi tucked his hands into his pockets, a hint of red on his cheeks. “You said you liked dancing, and, well, I wanted you to feel at home. So, well, yeah.” He ruffled his mint hair. “Do...do you like it?”

 

Jimin stared at the wizard, glowing with joy. “Yoongi’ no one’s ever taken my dancing seriously. This...this is amazing. I can’t believe you even thought of something like this!” Jimin twirled around, letting his feet glide on the smooth floor, feeling the muscles respond. “It’s beautiful!” He spun back around to the wizard, wrapping him in a hug. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

 

Yoongi was stiff in shock, for half a moment, before he tucked his head into Jimin’s neck, wrapping his arms around the other’s slim waist. “I wanted to make sure you know this was somewhere you could stay, Jimin,” he mumbled.

 

Jimin squeezed him tighter. “Thank you so much.”

 

For a moment, Yoongi wanted nothing more than to stay there, wrapped up in Jimin’s warm embrace, savoring the feeling of the curse fading bit by bit, of Jimin shaking its grasp on him every moment he stayed in the castle, but he had to finish the tour. “Come on, there’s more.” He grabbed Jimin’s hand, tugging him towards the door.

 

“Is that a new color?” Jimin asked, pointing at the dial. “Where does the yellow go?”

 

“We’ll get there, patience. First, the green dial still goes to the Waste, don’t worry, but the blue dial is somewhere new as well. Go see.” Yoongi nudged Jimin towards the door.

 

With a puzzled frown, Jimin spun the dial and opened the door, only to gasp as he recognized the roofs. “My...my hometown…You put the door in my hometown…” Jimin spun to stare up at Yoongi. “But…”

 

“It’s right down the road from the bakery you said your brother works at. I...I don’t have siblings, but I remember them being really important to peers at the academy. I thought you’d enjoy being closer, when you want.” He gestured. “This is connected to an empty building, you can turn it into whatever you want, I’m sure Jungkook would be happy to help you, he needs to practice his magic anyway.”

 

Jimin wandered out for a moment, just looking at the courtyard and the door leading to the empty building. “It’s amazing.” It was all he could think of saying.

 

“There’s one more place, Jimin, come on.” Jimin went without Yoongi pulling him, and Yoongi shut the door so he could spin the dial to the new color, yellow. “This is a special place. I...I grew up here, when I was young. My uncle let me study and practice my magic when I was a kid, then when I was on break from the Academy.” He opened the door, and Jimin stepped through.

 

It was a valley, beautiful and covered in flowers, filled with the sounds of insects and small amphibians, small rivers and lakes winding their way through the greenery. “It’s beautiful Yoongi,” Jimin said, stepping out and spinning to get a full view. “I can’t believe someplace like this exists!” He paused, furrowed his brow. “I dunno why, but it seems weirdly familiar…” He shrugged, shaking his head. “Come on, show me around!”

 

Jimin’s bright smile, crinkling his cheeks and altogether unfair on that face, had Yoongi wishing his hair was longer so he could hide behind it.

 

As it was, he just reached out and grabbed Jimin’s hand, reveling in the smooth palm in his, enjoying the fact that Jimin seems to have almost completely shaken the curse, that for the most part it couldn’t hold on in the face of Jimin’s strong will.

 

“Over there is my study. It’s not got much in it right now, but when I was young, I used to spend most weekends trying not to blow it up.” Yoongi grinned at the memories.

 

Jimin chuckled. “How often did you blow it up?”

 

“I kept the explosions to once every other month. I did get good at rebuilding things. It’s why I managed to make the castle. Lots of practice.” Yoongi sighed. “This place is so peaceful, Jimin, I used to wish I could just stay here forever. We’re miles away from civilization out here, the closest city is over a two day walk. The only thing that comes this way are airships, and that’s rare.” Yoongi Tilted his head up to look at the sky.

 

Jimin frowned. “Why can’t you? I mean, you turned down the king and Master Namjoon, why can’t you just hide away out here?”

 

Yoongi tugged Jimin in closer. “Because, I can’t just leave things the way they are, Jimin. There are people out there being killed by politics. I can help, why should I hide myself away when I could make a difference instead?”

 

Jimin laid his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. “Why do you sound like you’re going away, for good? Because it’s scaring me.”

 

“I want you to have access to everything you might need, in case I don’t make it back. The empty building, you could turn it into a dance studio, a flower shop, whatever. Jungkook is far enough along in his studies that he needs more practice than guidance, and I’m sure you can bring him out here to to work on the more dangerous spells. Hoseok...well, I don’t know about him.” Yoongi tightened his hold on Jimin. “Whatever happens, Jimin, I want you to be okay, alright?”

 

Jimin wasn’t sure if he was nodding or shaking his head. “I don’t want you to go, Yoongi. I really don’t want you to go.” He was sure his voice was at thick with tears as his eyes were, as everything was wavering in his vision.

 

“That’s not an option anymore, I have to step up. What little I’ve been doing, I’ve been doing it trying to stay off Namjoon and Seokjin’s radar. Now, one of those two is in the castle and the other is busy with the war effort. I can step it up. I need to. I can’t leave you and Jungkook in a country that’ll be torn apart by bombs and magic.” Yoongi rubbed Jimin’s back. “I’ll do my best to come back in one piece, alright?”

 

“Yo-you better,” Jimin sniffed. A sound, like motors whirring, reached his ears. “What’s that?”

 

“Bomber planes. They’re way off target, unless they’re starting to deliberately attack civilian targets.” Yoongi grit his teeth, tucking Jimin under one arm and concentrating.

 

The plane was easy to disable, he’d done it countless times before, but his magic was starting to turn unstable. His curse was dragging at him, and it would be his end if this war wasn’t.

 

“Yoongi, your arm!” Jimin reached out towards the feathers sticking awkwardly out of his skin. “Doesn’t...doesn’t that hurt?”

 

Yoongi smiled. “Not really. Now, we need to go. I didn’t stop it, it won’t crash, but I definitely disabled it, and there are wizards and witches on that airship. Come on, give me your hands, we have to make a run for it!” Jimin glanced back, seeing the strange, monstrous shapes, almost birds but way too big and too round, emerge from the failing ship. As they looked towards them, they snarled, and Jimin took Yoongi’s hands and started to run.

 

Yoongi took flight, lifting Jimin up with him, making good speed back to the door. “Don’t you dare leave me alone, Min Yoongi!”

 

“I can’t take you with me, Jimin, but I can get you back home safely. Tell Jungkook to get some shopping done, and make sure Seokjin eats something! Take care of yourself, Jimin, I want to come back to find you there, alright?” Yoongi looked down at Jimin, getting a nod in return, then he dropped Jimin through the doorway, speeding off to pull the transformed magicals away from the door.

 

Jimin scowled. “I am not a sack of hay to be dropping everywhere,” he mumbled back at the door behind him. “He really needs to learn about soft landings.”

 

The door suddenly spun to the blue dial and Jungkook burst through the door, only to stare up at Jimin in confusion. “Why…why are you on the floor?”

 

“Because your master doesn’t know how to magic someone down softly,” Jimin grumped.

 

“Um, Master Yoongi isn’t soft about anything. But I went and got some food for dinner, Jimin. It’s almost dinner time, right? Cause I’m hungry.”

 

Jimin laughed, lifting himself off the ground. “Yeah, Jungkook, I’ll cook some dinner. You up for prepping with me?”

 

“Yeah! I’ll go get the knife and the pan and stuff!” The boy raced off, and Jimin smiled fondly after him.

 

A groan had Jimin turning around. Seokjin was up, wobbling on his feet before collapsing into the couch.

 

“Seokjin? Seokjin? Are you okay?” Jimin headed over, a bit nervous, to check on the magicless Seokjin.

 

Seokjin looked up at him, eyes slightly out of focus. “You are?”

 

“I’m Jimin. We’ve met before.”

 

“Oh, we have? I’m afraid I don’t recall…”. Seokjin’s eyes roved, landed on Hoseok. “Oh, you are a lovely fire.”

 

Hoseok ‘eeped’, shrinking down behind some logs. “That’s...that’s weird. Jimin, stop him from staring at me.”

 

Jimin laughed. “It’s alright Hobi, he can’t do anything to you.”

 

“You are familiar...I wonder where I’ve seen you before…” Seokjin looked at Jimin, eyes starting to focus some, before they spaced again. “Such a beautiful fire…”

 

Hoseok sent pleading eyes towards Jimin. “Please make him stop.”

 

“You can handle a magicless wizard. He seems harmless enough. Now, Jungkook, do you have everything ready?”

 

“Yep! Let’s get cooking!”

 

Making dinner with Jungkook was one of the many small pleasures Jimin had grown fond of. Teaching the kid how to cut vegetables and braise meat and prepare fish, it was a joy. And Jungkook was a bright kid.

 

They soon had dinner enough for the whole family, even though no one expected Yoongi to be back.

 

Jimin kept an eye on Seokjin, who was absently lifting up spoonful after spoonful without actually paying attention to what was on the spoon, staring directly at Hoseok the whole time.

 

“Such a pretty fire,” he mumbled from time to time, and Hoseok clearly wasn’t happy with the attention.

 

“Well, Hoseok, Yoongi won’t be back tonight, I’m pretty sure, you up for finishing his food instead?”

 

Hoseok grinned, glad for the distraction from the constant staring courtesy of Seokjin. “I’m all over it!” And indeed, when Jimin scraped the plate into the fire demon’s mouth, he hummed happily as h burned vegetables and meat into ash.

 

“Now, off to bed Jungkookie, and close the windows alright? I don’t want anyone figuring out we’re here, yeah?”

 

Jungkook nodded, serious, and headed off to bed, leaving Jimin to take care of Seokjin.

 

In an instant, Seokjin’s eyes cleared, and they bored directly into Jimin’s. “The little kitten from the hat shop, I remember you now. You’re doing quite well for yourself, practically running this castle. Maybe you should thank me,” Seokjin smiled just a bit. “Otherwise you would have been stuck in that tacky shop for ages longer.”

 

Jimin sniffed at him. “You’re an idiot. And you look half dead. You should get to bed, I’m sure it would do you some good.”

 

“Did you know, Yoongi hates losing. He always hated placing second in anything,” Seokjin said offhandedly, almost out of the blue.

 

“Yeah, well, you were worse, it seems. Making a deal for more power with a demon,” Jimin pointed out.

 

Seokjin snorted. “You think your Yoongi is innocent of such a thing? No, he made a deal, a deal for knowledge and power. And he sacrificed far more than me.” He frowned. “Though, I suppose, in the end, I got the worse deal.”

 

Jimin shook his head. “Yoongi may have made a deal like you say, but he’s not you. He’s kind and generous and sweet. He doesn’t curse people just because they interacted with their target of ire. He takes care of Jungkookie.” Jimin washed the dishes and set them to dry. “Now, it’s time for bed, Seokjin. Whether you sleep or not is up to you, but go to bed.”

 

Seokjin groaned. “Fine. Where did the claws come from, Kitten?”

 

“They’ve always been there, you just didn’t pay attention before. And you cursed me before I could hit you.” Jimin smiled sweetly at him, a hint of tooth behind it.

 

Seokjin snorted. “You two are quite the match.” He stumbled, still unsteady on his legs, off to bed.

 

Jimin breathed deeply, turning to his room, the dance studio and bedroom Yoongi had given him, and felt his entire being soften. “Yoongi, you better come back here, yeah?”

 

He spent a few minutes gliding across the floor, pleased to feel his body responding to him, before he collapsed into bed, exhausted from the day’s events.

 

Tomorrow would come with it’s own surprises.

 

~~~~

 

And what a surprise did it bring.

 

Jungkook stood in front of the entrance to the castle, shuffling awkwardly as Jimin stared him down, then looking behind him as someone else approached.

 

“Now, who’s that behind you, Jungkookie?” Jungkook wrung his hands, not sure what to say. Luckily, he didn’t need to say anything at all.

 

“Jimin? Jimin? Is that...is that you?”

 

Jimin blinked, shocked, almost wondering if his ears had gone bad. He had heard his baby brother’s voice, right? But then Jihyun came into view, and he stared, almost in awe. “What are you doing here, Jihyun? How did you even know we were here?”

 

Jihyun, chubby cheeked but lean Jihyun, glared at him. “What’s this I hear about you getting involved with wizards? And what’s with your hair? It was orange not a week ago, and now it’s silver! Mom’ll kill you for dyeing it again so soon!”

 

Jimin laughed, relief loosening the knot of worry in his chest. “It’s so good to see you Jihyun. How did you know we were here?”

 

“I think your little friend there could tell you,” Jihyun pointed at Jungkook, who fiddled with his fingers.

 

“Jungkookie?”

 

“Well, um, well, he looks a lot like you, you know, now that, and, I sorta yelled at him, in the, you know, the streets, and he asked if I knew you, and I couldn’t say no, cause, you’re like, the best ever, and so I said yes, and he made me bring him here.” Jungkook scuffed his foot. “I’m...I'm sorry,” he offered.

 

Jimin just sighed. “No, it’s alright. Jihyun would have just followed you anyway.” Jimin leveled a look at his brother. “You didn’t need to come hunt me down, we just moved in. I would have come to see you.”

 

“You always come to see me, but mom said you up and vanished nearly a week ago, sounding like you were dying. Now you’re in a completely separate part of town, in a new house, with a kid and a dog? Do you have a wife or husband to go with the kid?” Jihyun crossed his arms.

 

Jimin sighed. “Just...just come in Jihyun. I’ll explain to the best of my ability what I can.”

 

Jihyun followed him into the house, eying the clearly larger exterior. “I see you’ve gotten tangled up with a wizard of some serious power. What is all this?”

 

“We live here, Jihyun, it’s big enough for four people and a dog.” Jimin gestured around. “I like it. I feel...I feel at home. It’s a nice feeling.”

 

Jihyun sighed, but couldn’t argue his big brother’s point Jimin had never really fit in at the hat shop, but Jihyun wasn’t in a position to help him out. Apparently, Jimin had helped himself.

 

He walked to the table, setting down a bag on it. “Here’s some bread. I was heading home from the bakery when your kid saw me. Take care of yourself, Jimin, and come say hi once in a while. And bring your wizard with you. Judging by that blush on your face, he’s very much your wizard.” Jihyun smirked, walking out the door with a wave.

 

~~~

The moment Jihyun was outside the property Jimin now lived on, he sighed, his shoulders heavy, his chest tight. A car with a guard dressed as a royal palace guard was waiting for him. “My brother had best survive whatever you’ve planned for him,” he said lowly.

 

“I’m sure your brother will be fine. You’ll be taken back to your wife and child. Master Namjoon thanks you for your help for the crown.”

 

Jihyun groaned. “I’m sorry Jimin, kid, Jimin’s wizard. I’m sorry.”

 

~~~

 

Seokjin snickered softly to himself as he watched Jimin send his brother away with promises to visit, eyeing the bag on the table with interest.

 

Namjoon was getting more desperate.

 

Jimin shook his head at his brother’s retreating back, waiting until he was out of the compound. “Jungkook, come help me, let’s set up the empty building some. I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet, but you can practice your magic.”

 

Jungkook visibly cheered up, eyes growing wide in surprise and joy. “For real? I can use my magic? Awesome!” He grinned, following Jimin out into the courtyard and towards the empty building attached.

 

Seokjin waiting until the door shut, then he stared right at Hoseok. “You, fire demon, you know what it is I am searching for, don’t you?”

 

Hoseok visibly flinched. “What? Huh? But…”

 

“I’ve spent nearly a day trying to sort through my fractured mind, but I remember enough. It has something to do with you…” Seokjin suddenly looked over at the bag on the table again. “And that infernal advisor to the king is really reaching.”

 

He managed to get the bag and return to the couch, opening it up and grabbing a slimy, wiggling black bug of some description that tried to escape.

 

“Namjoon, I expected better of you than a peeping bug. Hoseok, this is for you,” he said, and tossed the bug towards the fire demon.

 

With little option, Hoseok ended up swallowing the spell ridden black mass, immediately groaning, before fizzling into nearly nothing and smoking continuously.

 

Seokjin pulled out a cigar from his inside pocket, lighting it up with a spare spark from Hoseok, dragging in a small modicum of magic with every inhale. “I can protect this place as well, Yoongi, just watch. I’ll have your heart and your power.”

 

When Jimin walked back in a couple hours later, it was to Hoseok still smoking in the fireplace and Seokjin draped languidly over the couch, a self satisfied smirk on his face.

 

“What’s wrong with Hobi?” Jimin demanded, immediately trying to get the fire demon blazing again.

 

Seokjin waved a hand. “Hoseok will be fine, but Namjoon’s still looking for this place. Best close the windows and doors, little kitten. Hoseok won’t be able to protect this place as well at the moment.”

 

Jimin growled. “Jungkook, go check and make sure all the doors and windows leading outside are closed upstairs, I’ll check this floor.”

 

“Okay Jimin!” Jungkook cast a worried look at Hoseok. “Please be alright Hoseok. I don’t want anything to happen to you or Master Yoongi.” Then he was up the stairs.

 

Jimin finished shutting all the windows, slumping down on the other couch and staring at Seokjin. “Why do I know Hobi’s problem is your fault?” he asked.

 

Seokjin shrugged. “A convenient solution, I assure you.”

 

“Whatever. I just..I hope Yoongi comes back so-” his words were interrupted by the sounds of explosions, far closer than he was used to hearing them. “Crap, they’re bombing the city!”

 

Jimin rushed to the door, opening it up to stare into the sky.

 

Bombs fell nearby, shaking the foundations of the house, and Jimin wobbled on his feet. He looked up, eyes widening as he saw a bomb headed right for them. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” he muttered, panic gripping his heart. “Oh please be a dud, please don’t go off, please don't go - YOONGI!” Icy cold fear filled him as he saw Yoongi grip the side of the bomb, riding it down as it headed straight for the house.

 

It was only seconds that passed, but it felt like an eternity as Jimin stared in fear at Yoongi holding on to the side of the bomb, his mint green hair streaked with black soot.

 

When the bomb finally hit, it didn’t explode, and Jimin nearly collapsed, his knees almost failing him. Yoongi was next to him in an instant.

 

“Jimin, Jimin? Are you okay? Jimin?”

 

“You...you scared me Yoongi! Oh god, you scared me with that stunt! Why would you do that?” Jimin clutched Yoongi’s feather covered shoulder.

 

“I couldn’t let it hit the house, not with you all in it. Jimin, come on, we need to get inside, Namjoon’s repurposed Seokjin’s henchman for his own purpose, and they’re coming this way. In between your friend’s country bombing us and Namjoon out for my blood, we’ll be lucky to make it till morning,” Yoongi said, voice dry.

 

Jimin groaned. “Now is not the time to make jokes! Something’s wrong with Hoseok and Seokjin’s been up and moving for nearly a day.” Jimin pointed up the stairs, and Yoongi hurried them into the castle, slamming the door shut with more than just physical force.

 

Yoongi strode over to Hoseok. “Come on now, Hoseok, I can’t have you failing on me now! Come on!” Yoongi _pulled_ something out of Hoseok, a little black ball with purple sparks, and Hoseok coughed and sputtered, starting to burn properly. “There we are.”

 

“Yoongi, that infernal not-wizard Jimin brought back fed me something gross, it was disgusting and horrible.” Hoseok moaned into a piece of wood he hastily chomped.

 

Yoongi turned an eyebrow onto Seokjin.

 

“I’m not the one who brought in their blackmailed brother. Hoseok was just the fastest way to get rid of the peeping bug. Though, Jimin, your brother didn’t do it intentionally, I’m sure. Master Namjoon does know just the right points to needle at.” Seokjin looked over at Jimin, who frowned and opened his mouth to comment.

 

“That’s not important. Jimin, keep everyone inside the castle, it’s not safe outside. Hoseok can keep you all safe in here.” Yoongi placed a hand on Jimin’s face. “Stay safe for me, alright?”

 

Jimin clutched at Yoong’s hand, his small fingers dwarfed by the black feathered ones. “Please...please stay safe, come back home, come back to me, alright?”

 

Yoongi smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had something I’ve wanted to come back to, Jimin. But you make me want to live again. I’ll do my best.” He leaned forward, pressing a soft, chaste kiss against Jimin’s lips. “Don’t cry, I’ll come back, okay?”

 

Jimin leaned forward, stealing one more kiss, before pulling back. “You better.”

 

Yoongi sent one more look over at Hoseok, Seokjin, and Jungkook. “Take care everyone. Stay safe.” One final caress against Jimin’s cheek. “Wait for me, yeah?” Then he was gone, out the door in a flurry of wings and feathers.

 

Jimin stared after him for half a minute, before clenching his fist. “Alright, we need to move the castle. Hoseok, we can’t stay here, we’re too vulnerable. If we stay, Yoongi will just keep trying to protect us, no matter the cost. We need to move!”

 

Hoseok and Jungkook stared at him, eyes wide. “But...but only Master Yoongi can move the castle like that!” Jungkook said.

 

Jimin’s face was set. “And Yoongi’ll die if we don’t get the castle disconnected from that house! Come on, think!” He turned to Hoseok. You can’t move it on your own?”

 

“What no! I just provide the power, I can’t move the place like that! That takes Yoongi’s magic, I just act as a conduit for the castle.” Hoseok huffed. “I’m a fire demon, not a miracle worker.

 

“Then what would happen if I took you out of the castle?” Jimin asked.

 

“Out? Like out of the door out?” Jimi nodded. “That...I don’t know, Jimin. No one’s ever done that before. I wouldn’t even know what might happen, except it wouldn't be good.”

 

“Would you be disconnected from the castle?”

 

“Outside of the castle, yes. Nothing here would work without me here.”

 

“Then that settles it, we’re taking you out. That’s the only way we can disconnect. Come on. Jungkook, help Seokjin stumble outside, don’t forget Monie, I’ll bring Hoseok.”

 

Jungkook jumped, but nodded. “Okay. Um, Mister Seokjin, sir, we need to get outside, yeah? You okay to stand up?”

 

Seokjin’s eyes cleared. “I’m...I would appreciate a shoulder, young wizard.” Jungkook nodded. “Thank you.”

 

“It’s okay. Monie, outside, okay?” Monie huffed, then rushed down the stairs, followed by Jungkook and Seokjin.

 

Jimin picked Hoseok up with a shovel, carefully holding him.

 

“Be careful If something happens to me, Yoongi’ll be in trouble. Carefully. Make sure I go out last, Jimin. Last!”

 

Jimin turned,edging out the door before pulling Hoseok out after him.

 

Immediately the castle began to collapse.

 

“Ack! Jungkook, watch out for the debris! Don’t get hit by anything!” He dodged a falling beam of wood and hoped Jungkook had managed to get somewhere safe.

 

Finally, the movement stopped, the castle in pieces around them, and the soft drops of rain finally registered.

 

“Jimin, Jimin, rain! I don’t do well in the rain!” Hoseok cried. “I knew this was a bad idea! It’s raining out here, Jimin!”

 

Jimin sighed. “It’s just a bit of rain. We need to tell Yoongi we’re okay, that we aren’t connected anymore. Jungkook,look for a way back in, yeah?”

 

It didn’t take long before they were back in the main room, and Jimin set Hoseok down in the fireplace area, setting slabs of wood nearby for him to burn.

 

“Jimin, what are we gonna do now?” Jungkook asked, voice soft and uncertain.

 

“We need to let Yoongi know we’re safe, or he’ll stay in that city and who knows what could happen. Can you move the castle to get to Yoongi?”

 

Hoseok shook his head. “No, it’s...the woods damp, there’s no chimney, the castle is practically in pieces, how do you expect me to move this mess?”

 

Jimin grinned. “I know you can, you are such an amazing fire demon.You do the impossible because Yoongi asks you, can you do it now? When I’m asking?”

 

Hoseok shifted. “I need something, something of yours. Something sentimental or important. Your eyes, whatever.”

 

“Not my eyes, I need those, but would this work?” He reached under his shirt and removed his necklace, the music charm, tarnished by years of wear, glinted in the light.

 

“What is that?”

 

“My dance teacher gave it to me, when I was eight. I placed first among the under 10s in the country, and it was a gift and a reminder of what I could do.” Jimin stared at it, a fond smile on his face. “I’ve worn it ever since.”

 

Hoseok nodded contemplatively. “That would work just fine. The sentiment makes it powerful.” He reached out with a fire tendril, taking the charm and incorporating it into his being.

 

For a moment, nothing happened, then he exploded, turning white and purple, his entire being the size of the room, now capable of lifting the castle bodily, cackling.

 

“Wow, Hoseok, you're amazing!” Jimin peered through the hole in the floor. “I can see him, he’s being swarmed!”

 

“Imagine, I can do this with your necklace, so what could I have done with your eyes, or your heart!” Hoseok boasted.

 

Which is where it all went horribly, terribly, wrong.

 

Something sparked in Seokjin’s eyes, something deep seated and desperate. “You, you have it! That’s why I could never find it! You have Yoongi’s heart!” His eyes darted towards the shovel where something small lay, softly pulsing.

 

Something Jimin had taken for Hoseok’s core.

 

But now that he looked closer, he realized that Seokjin was right, that it wasn’t some weird demonic item at all, but rather a small, barely fist sized heart, pulsing in time with the color shifts in Hoseok’s body.

 

And before Jimin could say another word, Seokjin darted forward, reaching out and, without considering the effect it would have on him, he grabbed the heart in both hands.

 

Immediately, the small shell of the castle started to wobble, tipping from side to side, losing its footing as Hoseok flailed, unable to hold anything up as Seokjin’s fingers closed around the heart that was the base of Hoseok’s being.

 

“What are you doing? Stop it, let Hoseok go, we’re going to fall Seokjin!” Jimin screamed, nearly falling over as he tried to keep upright.

 

“I’ve been searching for this since I figured out what he did! The source of Yoongi’s knowledge and power, right here, mine!” There was a wild look in his eyes. “I can’t let this opportunity go to wa-” There was a small pause, before Seokjin started to scream.

 

He had forgotten that he had grabbed living fire, flames that now licked at his own skin, despite Hoseok’s best efforts at trying to be non-harmful.

 

“Jimin, Jimin, what’s happening?” Jungkook shouted, panic clear in his voice. “What’s happened to Hoseok?”

 

“That mad idiot has him, and he’s burning. Dammit, what do I do now?” Jimin cursed, looking around.

 

“You can’t hurt Hoseok, that’ll just hurt Yoongi too!” Jungkook replied.

 

Jimin couldn’t think like that, not with Seokjin burning and the whole castle shuddering. There was a bucket of rainwater nearby, and without considering the repercussions too deeply, he picked it up and threw the contents all across Seokjin and Hoseok.

 

If he had thought too much, he wouldn’t have done it, too afraid of what might have happened to Yoongi.

 

The castle shuddered under his feet, and he looked, panicked, towards Jungkook. “Get closer to Hoseok and Seokjin, Jungkook! Stay with them, no matter what happens. Hoseok’s still burning a bit, it should be alright.”

 

Jungkook scrambled to listen to him, tucking himself up next to the quietly sobbing form of Seokjin. “What about you Jimin? Master Yoongi’ll be so upset if anything happens to you,” Jungkook asked.

 

“I’m comi-” the floor fell out from under him, and the last thing he saw was Jungkook’s eyes getting impossibly wide, his mouth open in a scream of horror.

 

The tumble down the hill was probably more painful than it felt, as Jimin was numb to the experience. All he could think of was, if this was happening now, how could Yoongi possibly be okay? He had dumped water over Hoseok! Hoseok, who had Yoongi’s beating heart as his core!

 

When he finally came to a stop, shuddering in the wreckage of the piece of the castle that came with him, he couldn’t help but hug himself.

 

“It’s all gone so wrong,” he muttered. “Everything. And now I don’t know if Yoongi’s alive or dead. Or if Jungkook or Hoseok are alright. Oh god, I dumped water on Hoseok…” He dabbed at his eyes. “I need to find them. I can’t just sit in the pile of metal and wood and hope they’ll be alright, I have to go hunt them down.” He needed to find Yoongi. If Yoongi was alive, then this would all be okay.

 

Yoongi had to be alive.

 

He felt the ring on his hand, the one that Yoongi had given him just days before, vibrate, and as he watched, it started glowing. “What?” The beam of light shot off towards the side, and Jimin followed it with his eyes.

 

The door had come with him. It was propped open, a void of blackness calling to him. The light pointed straight at it.

 

Well, he couldn’t just stand here, and the void looked far more inviting than trying to hike up the mountain sides.

 

It was almost jelly like in consistency, and he had to press into it before he could start moving forward.

 

But when he’d managed it, making it past the doorway and through the strange barrier, the world shifted.

 

He was somewhere he’d never seen before, a classroom of sorts. The sounds were muffled, he couldn’t hear anything, but it didn’t take him long to find someone familiar.

 

Yoongi, younger than Jungkook was, blonde head of hair shocking to see. Those eyes were narrow, focused on whatever project was in front of him, and when the little collection of wood and metal started to move, fitting together and starting to move, the bright, happy smile that split his face made Jimin’s heart go weak.

 

“You’ve been fascinated by magic since before you knew what common sense was, weren’t you?” he muttered, fond. “I see your ideas for castle building haven’t evolved much from childhood.” The structure he’d animated bore a striking resemblance to the castle he had created as an adult.

 

The image shifted, blurred, and they were out in that valley again, the one covered in flowers and rivulets where Yoongi said he grew up practicing magic in, and when Jimin looked up, the sky was full of falling stars.

 

He remembered that day, the day the whole sky looked as if it were falling. He had been young, barely into teenagerhood, and had sat on a hill and watched the streaks of light fill the sky.

 

But he wasn’t here for that, not exactly, he was here for Yoongi.

 

Yoongi had to be somewhere. He looked around, eyes picking apart the landscape, until he found the slight, human figure of Yoongi in the distance.

 

He ran towards him.

 

Yoongi stood near the lake, walking its perimeter, clearly watching the stars falling.

 

One of them landed near Jimin, and he watched in mild horror and fascination as a small, human shaped being leaped up and ran for a few moments, before burning out.

 

And it hit him, all at once. _‘You who swallowed a falling star, oh heartless man_ ’, Hoseok carrying Yoongi’s heart, the connection between the two of them, and now, Yoongi, out here among falling stars, wandering.

 

It matched up perfectly.

 

As he watched, Yoongi held out small, still young and barely teenage hands, to catch a star that fell directly at him. And no matter how hard Jimin tried to get close enough to hear what they were saying, that was impossible.

 

Before he could get any closer, Yoongi tipped his head back and swallowed the star, and Jimin felt his own heart stop, watching.

 

A moment later, filled with watching Yoongi clench at his chest in pain, Hoseok as Jimin knew him blossomed into life, and Jimin felt his heart clench.

 

Yoongi and Hoseok were tied together by something far more powerful than a curse. Yoongi had given Hoseok a chance at life, and Hoseok had given Yoongi the ability to create things he never would have been able to on his own.

 

But it was killing Yoongi, Jimin had seen evidence of that. It was tearing him apart, and he had to fix it. He had to.

 

“Yoongi! Yoongi! Hoseok! Can you hear me? You need to find me! I can fix this! I know how to help you! Please, can you hear me? It’s me, Jimin! Oh god, Yoongi, please find me!” The world around him started to dissolve as the ring on his finger finally broke, and the last thing he saw was Yoongi’s dark eyes turning towards his voice in confusion and shock.

 

Well, he had obviously heard him, or something in him had heard him. Jimin sagged, heading back towards the only thing of substance in this strange, non-place, this place in between time.

 

The door.

 

When he stumbled out of it, breathing hard, the first thing he noticed was a giant black bird standing nearby.

 

A giant black bird with a shock of mint green hair and a human face.

 

“Oh, Yoongi, what’s happened to you?” he breathed. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“Jimin...Jimin...I...found...you,” Yoongi whispered and Jimin brushed feathers from his face, rubbing at soot marks and bloodstains on his cheeks.

 

“You have. But I need you to take us to Hoseok, now, okay? I can fix this, but I need Hoseok too.”

 

It took a great deal of effort, Jimin could tell, but Yoongi held out a huge foot, and Jimin climbed on, watching the landscape receding below them as Yoongi directed them back to Hoseok, wherever he could be.

 

They weren’t far off, Hoseok didn’t have enough power to keep the last remaining bit of the castle moving at any decent kind of speed, and Jimin jumped lightly down into the wooden planks. He nodded his thanks towards the scarecrow that had kept watch over Jungkook, getting a brief hop in reply.

 

Behind him, Yoongi attempted to land, but ended up just collapsing, feathers flying off him in a flurry of black, until he lay motionless, pale, paler than he usually was, his clothes and body covered in black grime.

 

“Jimin? Jimin? You’re...you’re okay? You’re alive?” Jungkook turned red rimmed, teary eyes towards Jimin, before lurching towards him, wrapping him in a hug. “I thought you had died! I thought you and master Yoongi had died and left me alone with the Prince and Hoseok wasn’t answering me and the Prince is just silent and Monie doesn’t talk at all, and I was so scared cause I didn’t know what I would do, but you’re here and Master Yoongi’s here and it’s okay, right? You’ll make it okay, right?”

 

Jimin smiled down at those wide, trusting eyes. “Yes, Jungkookie, I can make it okay.”

 

Jungkook sniffed once more, before letting Jimin go.

 

Seokjin’s eyes were hard. “I worked for years to get that curse on Yoongi, you can’t just undo all my hard work! I won’t let you! I deserve this!”

 

Jimin sighed. “Please, Seokjin? Please? It’s his heart. You were both children when this started, and I can’t stand the thought that he might die because of a childish feud. Let him have his heart back, and you can sit and argue about magic theory all you want. But otherwise, all you’ll have is a dead man’s heart, and what good would that do you?” He looked at Seokjin, eyes trying to plead his case.

 

“What would you do with it? You have no magic to speak of,” Seokjin responded, holding Hoseok and Yoongi’s heart closer.

 

“I’d give it back. Yoongi needs it, he’s dying.” Jimin pointed over at the motionless form. “He won’t last much longer, and when he dies, his heart will die, and Hoseok will die, and everything you’ve planned for will go to waste.”

 

Seokjin looked at Jimin closely. “You...you’re serious. You’d just give it back to him. When he’s so clearly given it to you, in all the important ways.”

 

“I love him, I want him to live long enough to hear me say those words to him, Seokjin. Please.” Jimin held out his hands.

 

“You know, a heart isn’t just something you toss around. He’s not going to know what to do with himself for a bit,” Seokjin warned, but held out his hands. “Take it, before I change my mind.”

 

Jimin smiled. “Thank you, Seokjin, I’m sure you and Yoongi will have plenty of time to argue the nuances of magic when he’s back on his feet.”

 

Seokjin scowled.

 

“Jimin? Is that you?” Hoseok sounded exhausted.

 

“Yeah, I’m here Hoseok. I know how to fix this. Will you be alright when I give him back his heart?” jimin looked down at the tiny blue flame surrounding Yoongi’s heart.

 

“If you do it, I’m sure I’ll be okay. But only you.” Hoseok’s eyes closed. “I’m so tired Jimin.”

 

“I know, I’m so sorry.” Jimin felt the heart in his hands flutter. “Yoongi was so young when he met you, wasn’t he? Just barely out of childhood.”

 

“He was young and foolish, but I’m glad he found you, Jimin.”

 

Jimin stood up so he could settle beside Yoongi’s form. “Well, Yoongi, I hope you don’t mind me taking things into my own hands.” He set Hoseok and his heart on Yoongi’s chest, pressing it into place.

 

For a moment, nothing happened, and Jimin was just starting to think he’d done something wrong, when a gleeful laugh filled the air and a sparkling light flew through the sky. “I’m free! Jimin, you did it, I’m free!”

 

A moment later, the platform jerked, wobbled, and then began to fall.

 

“Hoseok’s gone, we can’t move without him!” Jungkook shouted. They started down the side of the mountain at speed, and Jimin braced himself and Jungkook against Yoongi, hoping to keep everyone on the platform.

 

The scarecrow that had accompanied them the whole trip jumped from the platform to dig his pole into the ground in front of the speeding wooden platform, slowing them down bit by bit, his pole shredding in the process.

 

“Mr. Scarecrow!” Jimin shouted.

 

All of a sudden, the platform jerked to a stop just as the scarecrow’s pole snapped, and it flew into the air, landing in a heap on top of Jimin, Jungkook, Yoongi, and Seokjin.

 

“Jimin, are you okay?” Jungkook’s squeaky voice asked, hesitant.

 

“I’m fine, Yoongi’s fine, Seokjin’s fine. But our scarecrow friend’s pole snapped. We can fix you, I’m sure.” He placed a small kiss on the scarecrow’s vegetable head. “Thank you, for saving us. We’ll get you a new pole.”

 

Except he needn’t have bothered with the offer, as the scarecrow morphed and twisted, until a tall, elegantly dressed figure stood in front of Jimin, a whimsical smile on his face. “Yo!”

 

“Taehyung?!” Jimin yelped. “Taehyung?! You were the scarecrow?”

 

Taehyung shrugged. “Got on the bad side of a witch and got myself cursed. Knew I shouldn’t have wandered into that flower field, but they were really pretty flowers.”

 

Jimin groaned. “You vanished and our countries practically started a war! Think, TaeTae!”    

 

“I know that spell. It takes a soulmate’s kiss to undo,” Seokjin said, raising an eyebrow between the two.

 

Taehyung snorted. “We’re brothers, practically. It worked because we aren’t blood related but we’re still close. I have a fiance back home, and I do love her dearly.”

 

“I hope she puts up with your nonsense better than I ever did,” Jimin said, snickering at the put upon look Taehyung adopted. A cry from behind him had him whirling on his knees. “Yoongi!”   

 

“It looks like you have your hands full at the moment. When things are more stable, Jimin, you bring your wizard around. We need to catch up! I miss our adventures!”

 

Jimin waved a hand absently.

 

“I’ll remind him, Prince Taehyung,” Jungkook promised. “You were a really awesome scarecrow, though. Thanks, for helping out.”

 

Taehyung ruffled Jungkook’s hair. “Make sure you come with them, okay Jungkook?”

 

Jungkook nodded.

 

Yoongi groaned, pressing a hand to his chest. “Oh god, why does my whole body hurt?”

 

“Well, you did fight your way through a horde of pissed off monster wizards, but I think you might mean your heart. I gave it back. You have your heart back, Yoongi, and Hoseok is free.” Jimin laughed at the look on Yoongi’s face, something between confusion and relief.

 

“My heart? But...I didn’t...how?”

 

Jimin leaned forward, his hair framing his face, his eyes little crescents. “Because, Yoongi, I love you, and that’s enough to overcome any curse. It was enough to overcome mine, it was enough to overcome Taehyung’s, and it was enough to overcome yours.”

 

Yoongi’s face slowly flushed. “Jimin...Jimin.” He pulled the younger man down, kissing him soundly. “I love you too. Thank you.”

 

~~~~

Namjoon stared into the mirror he used to keep an eye on his dog. Monie had taken his sweet time reporting in, and now that he does, it’s only to show that the neighboring prince is back in human form and headed home, that Yoongi is alive and whole, heart intact, and that silver haired young man by his side had really gone and done the impossible.

 

“Well, I suppose that’s that. Go get the ministers of defense, it’s time to end this pointless war.”

 

“Yes, Master Namjoon.”

 

If he had known how big an impact that boy, Jimin, would have had on Yoongi, he wasn’t sure he would have taken the same path.

 

But what’s been done is done, and now he has a war to end.

~~~~

 

“Yoongi, what now?” Jimin looked over at the wizard. “The castle’s gone, Hoseok’s gone, what happens now?”

 

Yoongi smirked. “I’m still a wizard, with some materials I can put together a place to live. It may not move, Hoseok was essential to that, but it’ll be a home.” He tugged Jimin closer, resting his head on Jimin’s shoulder. “We can put a dance studio in it and everything.”

 

Jimin ran a hand through Yoongi’s hair. “That sounds awesome, Yoongi, that really does.”

 

A moment later, a small light spiralled down, hovering in front of Jimin’s face, before turning into a ball of flame. “Um, hey guys,” Hoseok said, looking a bit sheepish.

 

“Ah, Hoseok, you didn’t have to come back,” Jimin said, shooting a look at Yoongi that told him to be quiet.

 

“I know, but you’re my friends, and it looks like it’s about to rain,” Hoseok complained.

 

Jimin laughed. “It’s nice to see you again, Hobi.”

 

“You as well, Jimin, Jungkook, Yoongi.” Hoseok turned to look at Seokjin. “And maybe you too. I’m not sure yet about you.”

 

Seokjin rolled his eyes, but a small smile graced the corners of his mouth, and Jimin considered that progress.

 

“Well, now that Hoseok’s back, what do you say to a flying castle?” Yoongi asked, grinning wickedly.

 

Jimin pretended to consider. “Hmmm, well…”

 

Jungkook tugged at Jimin’s arm. “Please Jimin please!!! A flying castle Jimin! Flying!” Jungkook’s puppy eyes should be considered a weapon, Jimin thought. “Please please please!!!”

 

“Fine, fine, a flying castle. But you better put in a door to somewhere near my brother’s bakery,” Jimin warned Yoongi.

 

“I’ll make sure that a door leads over that way, Jimin, promise.” He grinned, stealing a kiss. “Thanks!”

 

Jimin smiled fondly. “You might not remember, but I saw your fascination with making strange moving creations start when you were younger than Jungkook. Did you really just make a giant version of a toy you created when you were nine for a castle?”

 

Yoongi gaped at him, and Jimin laughed.

 

~~~~

 

Magic was certainly good for many things, Jimin thought, twirling in the dance studio Yoongi had put in the castle just for him, but the best part was how fast you could do things with magic. Between Yoongi and Jungkook, they had the castle put together in under a week, needing only one more week to work out the particulars of getting it to fly.

 

Now, a month later, they soared through the skies, Hoseok more than happy to travel through the castle via the tube system Yoongi had installed. Jungkook rolled around in the small front yard when he wasn’t busy studying, and Seokjin and Yoongi argued magic theory whenever they had spare time.

 

As for Jimin, well, he had found his place, his home. He kept everything together, making sure everyone ate, making sure things got picked up when they needed to be, and pulling Yoongi away from his magic studies as often as possible, either to show him a new dance or just to have time to themselves, away from the rest of their odd and diverse family.

 

And when they were warm, curled up against each other in their shared bed, sated and uncaring about the state of the covers, Jimin sometimes wondered if he should write Seokjin a thank you note.

 

He had more than he ever hoped for.

 

“Love you, Yoongi.

 

“Mmm, Love you too, Jimin. Now, stop thinking so much.” Yoongi pressed a sleepy kiss into Jimin’s shoulder.

 

Yeah, he had everything he’d ever wanted.                                                        

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the end! This is about three times longer than I planned for it to be, but well, it all worked out in the end. Thanks for sticking around and reading!
> 
> Kuroi  
> @blakatkuroi on twitter if you wanna come poke at me.


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